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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
Yesterday we read that great multitudes went with Jesus. And 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 -- less, 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 meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still 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 disciples. 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 explains that "fellowship with sinners defiled pious Jews. The three parables in this chapter are Christ's answer to the Pharisees and scribes." The parables found in today's reading of the man with the sheep and the woman with the lost coin, together with the father of the prodigal son in tomorrow's reading, are seen as representing Christ, the Church, and God the Father. Ambrose of Milan has written: "Christ carries the sinner, the Church seeks and intercedes, and the Father receives."
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." A note tells us: "In the Fathers' spiritual interpretation, the hundred sheep represent all rational creation. The one sheep who goes astray symbolizes mankind, while the ninety-nine represent the angelic realm."
"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." My study bible explains that ten silver coins comprise a single necklace that would be worn by a married woman, a bride -- which is an image of the Church (Ephesians 5:32). The lost coin, which in Greek is a drachma, carried the image of the king but symbolizes mankind. We bear the image of God but mankind has fallen from grace. Through the Church, Christ seeks to bring enlightenment to the world and sweeps away sin, finding His lost creation.
Christ's parables give us such vivid pictures of the way God works, the way Christ thinks -- each one yet another facet of the persona of God and thus the mission of the Church, Christ's vision of the Church He is establishing. And, it's got to be a vision not just of the Church as a kind of institution or physical presence, a set of buildings, or even denominations. His Church overall is a mystical reality; it is something that binds us together and has each of working as its "agents" so to speak; we each carry cathedrals within us and are responsible for bringing His light into the world ourselves. One such essential facet for us to understand about mission is this incredible power of the parables He tells today, in which redemption -- lost and found -- is so exceptionally important to God who loves us. We note the ninety-nine loyal sheep, and the one straying for whom all effort is put to work to return. And there's the one coin that will complete the necklace, worth all the effect of sweeping and cleaning to recover. But above all, in the character of God illustrated here and the power of this mystical Church, the tremendous rejoicing that occurs over just one who is beloved and reclaimed. This is such an important way to understand the nature of God's church, Christ's love, the rejoicing of the angels, that we've been given several memorable parables to make it vivid in our understanding. It's not meant to diminish the flock, or the rest of the coins in the necklace, or (as we'll find in tomorrow's reading) the good son who stayed behind with the father as opposed to the prodigal. No, the searching for the lost represents a completion, those who are brought back to the fold, the coin that completes the necklace, the family reunited. It is an illustration of great and tremendous love. And this love is, above all else, what we can count on. If we ever feel that we've strayed, the rejoicing is waiting for us simply to return: return in prayer, return in one's heart, return for forgiveness and guidance and true leadership. But most of all return to love that awaits. This is unshakeable as a part of our faith, and the fact of this level of God's love is so powerful that millions and millions of faithful, living and dead, could testify to the experience of it, and more millions every day. It is the rejoicing of heaven that we feel when we know that we are loved. Wherever we are, we can turn in prayer and sincerity, and we will experience this love. It may not even be something we recognize or know at once because we may not have ever experienced anything like it; but sooner or later, we will come to know. Even in the longing we feel for God, we are reciprocating what is already there for us.
