"The Parable of the Lost Tennis Ball" by Lisa Kopala

In Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7, Jesus tells the familiar parable of the lost sheep to two different groups.  In Matthew he is speaking with the disciples after they have asked him who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven and he tells them to humble themselves as a child.  In Luke’s passage, however, tax collectors and sinners are listening to Jesus as the Pharisees grumble and complain that he is not only friendly with that lowly group, but also eats with them.  Jesus tells the Pharisees there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the other 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance. 

 I want to tell the parable of the lost tennis ball.  My Golden Retriever, Thor, had a passion for tennis balls.  On any given summer day, you may have seen us driving around town in my little convertible, top down, Thor in the passenger seat with a tennis ball in his mouth.  Or we may have been spotted on a walk at Stocksdale Park, again with a tennis ball in his mouth.  Even a trip to the vet included a tennis ball in his mouth.  Evidence of Thor’s love of those fuzzy orbs could be seen in my backyard, where 40-50 bright neon yellow balls were strewn here and there.

One day when we were playing catch, I looked down at my feet to see a muddy, bald, cracked tennis ball that had seen much better days.  I picked it up and tossed it over the fence to throw away later when we finished playing.  That is when all played stopped.  Thor walked to the gate where I had thrown the ball and plopped down, waiting expectantly for me to go find that ball and return it to the yard with the others. 

I tried everything to convince him that he didn’t need that dirty, disgusting ball.  I threw brightly colored tennis balls in the air, I whistled, I ran back and forth scooping up perfectly clean balls and tossing them at his feet, but Thor would have nothing to do with such nonsense.  I finally gave up, picked up the “lost” ball, and put it back in the same spot where I found it in the yard. 

Play resumed within seconds and I was forgiven for my transgression.

Four years ago Thor died of cancer.  The tennis balls are stored in a cardboard box in the basement with the dirty, bald, cracked ball sitting on top as a reminder to me that everything doesn’t have to be perfect to be precious.

What was so special about that particular lost tennis ball that would make Thor stop playing until it was found?

What was so special about the lost sheep that made the shepherd in the parable leave the other 99 until it was found?

What is so special about God’s children that the Good Shepherd seeks and finds us when we are lost? 

Tilly, another Golden Retriever, lives with me now.  She has absolutely no interest whatsoever in playing catch or tennis balls in general.  In fact, if a tennis ball bounced right up next to her, she would give it a glance and walk away.  Her passion is the 40-50 dog toys that spill out of her toy box onto the living room floor.  I wonder…what if one of those were to come up missing?  Oh my!