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Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." So He spoke this parable to them, saying: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
- Luke 15:1-10
In yesterday's reading, Luke tells us that great multitudes now go with Jesus. He is on His way to Jerusalem. He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to met him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." My study bible says: "Mealtime fellowship with tax collectors and sinners was considered to be defiling for pious Jews." In yesterday's reading, we've already been told that great multitudes now go with Jesus. While He preached that disciples must be prepared to give all, even themselves, over to the cross, here we read that tax collectors and sinners also draw near. To take up one's cross is for everyone.
So He spoke this parable to them, saying: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." My study bible says that "joy in heaven for the repentance of each sinner is the main theme of this chapter. Jesus connects repentance with joy, not sadness." In some way, Jesus' words here recall His teaching on healing on the Sabbath to the leadership. There He asked, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" (And it's not the first time He's given them that teaching.) His example here recalls also things that are valuable to us. Sheep are important commodities, things precious to people. Jesus gives us an allegory of Himself as Shepherd, but much more; what's precious to us can stand in for ways in which we are precious to God. It's almost as if God is as dependent upon us as these people would have been to sheep or other properties vital to their lives. But the example here is of God's great love and desire to lose none of us.
"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." We can all think about things we think we've lost, and how imperative it becomes to us that we find it back for ourselves. So God wishes for our repentance, that we come back to God; Jesus' urgency for those who are straying away from God is reflective of the urgency of love for those whom we think we might have lost in our lives.
Repentance is the act of turning back toward God. The word in Greek means literally to "change one's mind." In turning back, we reconsider, we think about the way we do things, the ways we think about things, and turn that to God. In effect, we ask for God's way, and the taking up of the cross means that we give up what we think is best for God's way, for growth in this walking the road of the Kingdom with Christ. This is how we "change our minds." To do so, to participate in God's love this way, is to come back to God. So let us consider what it is to lose something or someone precious to us, and how urgently we long to recover what is lost. In this parable, Jesus seems to suggest that God's love is one of great dependency upon us; we are vital somehow to our Creator. Not replaceable! Each of us uniquely considered to be made in God's image is vital to the One who loves us best. Can we consider what this means? How do we understand our great uniqueness and how precious we are to God? Let us think of what it means to turn back, how much faith God places in our capacity to do so, even as God has endowed us with free will to turn or not to turn back to God. We throw away value we can't even understand when we fail to do so.
