For the love of Johnny
I was reading the story of Iowa mother Noreen Gosch, whose 12-year old son Johnny was abducted in 1982. As the 24th anniversary of his disappearance neared, somebody left two photographs at her front door of Johnny bound and gagged, apparently taken within hours of his abduction.
I have no idea how credible the stories are concerning how and why Johhny disappeared (you can read them here). But what struck me was the absolute perserverance of this woman in the face of tremendous loss for the past two and a half decades. She helped change the law in Iowa, and was instrumental in setting up the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She has never given up hope not only for her own son but for those many other children that go missing each year.
I thought of Noreen as I was reading some of the parables of Jesus last night. The story of the widow who searched for the lost coin. That of the father whose son wandered off and squandered his inheritance and lost everything he had. That of the shepherd who sought the lost sheep. The man who wanted to purchase the pearl of great price.
The widow kept searching until she found that precious coin. The father never gave up hope that his lost son would return, and celebrated joyously and extravagantly when he did. The shepherd risked his flock and livelihood, all that he had, to go after the one sheep that was lost. The man sold all that he had in order to obtain the precious pearl.
Not simply memorable stories, these parables give us insight into the extravagant heart of God. Jesus tells us stories about widows and fathers and shepherds and others who never give up seeking that which is lost, to show us the way God is toward us. Over and over again in the gospels Jesus describes a God who is not harsh and judgmental, not one who accounts for our every fault and failure, but one who is overflowing with love and compassion for every one of us and who never, ever gives up on us for a moment.
God is like all these, and God is like Noreen Gosch. Only infinitely more so. As Paul says to the Romans, nothing in all the universe will ever separate us from the love of God. Not adversity, not war, not suffering, not intolerant bigots. This is the message of Jesus, the true gospel that shines in the darkness and sorrow of this world.