will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it?
And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends
and neighbors together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you,
in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner,
than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent.
What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp, and sweep
the house in a thorough search, till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her
friends and neighbors, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found the silver coin I lost!’
I tell you, in the same way, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”
REFLECTION:
Jesus gives us three parables. The first two constitute our Gospel lesson for today.
The third is the parable of the prodigal son and his elder brother.
They all make the same point about joy over the repentant sinner.
There is a progression in these parables. The shepherd loses one of a hundred sheep (a 1% loss).
The woman loses one of ten coins (a 10% loss). The father loses one of two sons (a 50% loss).
The first two parables reinforce their punch by parallel structure:
“Which of you men” (tis anthropos) (v. 4) is paralleled by “what woman” (tis gune) (v. 8).
Both stories are about loss (vv. 4, 8).
“go after…until he found it” (v. 4) is paralleled by “sweep…until she found it” (v. 8)
Both stories are about rejoicing (vv. 5, 9).
The joy in both stories is occasioned by repentance on the part of sinners (vv. 7, 10).
Luke generally portrays tax collectors and sinners in a favorable light—willing
to listen—open to repentance and discipleship (cf. 3:10-14; 5:27-32; 7:34-50; 18:13).
Tax collectors and sinners come to listen to Jesus. They know that they are in the wrong
and are drawn to Jesus because they sense that he can make things right.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020