Reading
Luke 15:1-10
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Comment
In this episode, as in several others of the Gospels, Jesus shows that he is not afraid of being considered a friend of sinners. The murmuring of the scribes and Pharisees is an occasion to express the heart of his gospel: the mercy of God, who "does not rest" until he finds what is lost.
The first parable presents a shepherd who has lost one of his sheep while crossing a deserted place. Shepherds in the Middle East were responsible to their master for every sheep in the flock.
The sheep has lost its master, it has lost communion with its flock and it has lost itself "in the desert", in a hostile land, which exposes it to the danger of predators.
The rabbis did not deny the possibility for the sinner to be forgiven by God following sincere repentance, but these two parables refer to an image of God who is the first to seek, with concern, the lost man.
God not only does not want the sinner's death but that he be converted and live, as the prophet Ezekiel affirms (Ez 33.11); he looks for it first.
While the Pharisees and scribes murmur on earth, God and the angels rejoice in the heavens for the found sinner.
God rejoices not only when the multitudes are converted but also when a single sinner is converted. He rejoices more for a sinner who is converted than for an entire church of "righteous" or presumed righteous people.
Thus Jesus offers the example of the lost coin.
That coin, whose value is equal to a day's work, is a symbol of our soul, on which the image of God, to whom we belong, is imprinted. She is lost in the dust and dirt, but the woman lights the lamp and carefully sweeps the house until she finds it and puts it among his possessions. What is a coin in God's immense treasury? Yet he has no peace until he has found it.
The Lord guides us with his gospel to be found; he sweeps the house, cleansing us of all sin and making us come to the light of grace.
Prayer
O Lord, who do not want anyone to get lost, grant us to be found by your mercy so that we can rejoice with you in endless glory. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
