The evil one likes to play tricks on us. He is very good at convincing us that God really can’t forgive a sinner as bad as I am. He makes us doubt God’s mercy and God’s love for us. That line of thinking is not of God and this Gospel proves it. God searches out the sinner and when the sinner turns to him and repents, God and heaven rejoice. No matter what you have done, ignore the voice of the evil one, turn to God, and repent and rejoice.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep and The Parable of the Lost Coin
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost 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 his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15 : 1-10
Scriptural Analysis
Ever since his banquet at Levi’s house, Jesus earned a reputation for being a friend of tax collectors and sinners. They come to listen to him and he calls them to repentance. Undoubtedly, many of them have. They are among the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, that need an invite to the banquet. In their usual fashion, the Pharisees object to Jesus associating with these sinners. They complain and grumble just as the wilderness generation of Israel grumbled against God.
Jesus defends his outreach to sinners with a parable. In the Old Testament God is often pictured as a shepherd, “By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.” (Genesis 49:24) A shepherd searching for the lost sheep draws upon a specific image found in Ezekiel, “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice.” (Ezekiel 34:16) More than just that, he promises to set up a good shepherd for them, “And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.” (Ezekiel 34:23) Through his outreach to the sinners, Jesus is fulfilling the plan laid out in Ezekiel.
The shepherd is bound and determined to find the lost sheep. Compared to the ninety-nine, this lost sheep is equally important: not one that can simply be disregarded. However, that does not mean that our Lord does not value the perseverance of the just: he absolutely does but he does not abandon the unjust. Once found, the shepherd carries back the sheep on his shoulders, “He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaac 40:11). In bringing back sinners, Jesus is accomplishing the true restoration of Israel. The joy far outweighs the effort and it must be shared with friends and neighbors in a celebration.
Jesus applies this parable to the tax collectors. The sheep represents the sinner who repents. It can be argued that the ninety-nine represent the Pharisees who think that they have nothing to repent of. The celebration over the finding of the lost sheep represents the joy in heaven: the joy of the angels and of God himself when a repent sinner is found.
In the second parable, the focus of the story shifts from a man to a woman, mirroring the pattern previously seen in chapter thirteen of Luke’s Gospel. The coins are Greek silver drachmas which are worth approximately the same as a Roman denarius. Recall that one denarius is about a day’s wage so losing a coin is worth the effort to find it. Her actions to seek it out mirror the actions that God takes to seek out a sinner. The joy when it is found is to be celebrated. The coin represents a sinner and again there is rejoicing in heaven when that lost sinner repents and is found.
Daily Application
In both, the case of the lost sheep as well as the lost coin, the final part of the parable is rejoicing. God rejoiced in a sinner repenting and turning back to him. Note what God did not do. He did not lord their sins over their head. God did not mock them for their sins. He did not throw a smaller party because they were a great sinner than another. Rather, he poured out his mercy freely and rejoiced fully.
Catholics have been blessed with a wonderful sacrament in Reconciliation. We are given a chance to hear that our sins have been absolved, forgiven. We have certainty knowing that we have been washed clean by the blood of the lamb. Yet the lines for confession in most parishes are short. Additionally, many parishes only have one hour a week on the schedule for confession. Why is that? Why do we not see long confession lines and confessionals staffed twelve hours a day? The answer is demand. In most parishes, the demand for more confession times is simply not there. Why has demand fallen off?
There are two reasons. First, by and large, we have stopped talking about sin. In order for us to receive God’s mercy we have to first repent. In order to repent, we have to have something to repent of, we have to have sinned. If sin is not discussed, if we do not call it out by name, then people are unaware of their sinful behavior. If they don’t understand that certain behaviors are wrong, then they do not understand their need for repentance.
Second, even when they are aware of their sins and thus their need for repentance, for many people confession is a source of anxiety. There is a level of shame and embarrassment that comes with repeating one’s sins out loud. In order to overcome that we need to recall the lesson of the parables in this Gospel. First, when you enter the confessional, you are not confessing to a priest, you are confessing to Christ. The priest is in persona Christi Capitis, which translates “in the person of Christ the head” – meaning the head of the Church. It is Christ, it is God to who you are speaking. Recall how God reacted in the parables when the sinner repented and returned to him. There was no mocking or judgment by God. There was only pure rejoicing over the repentance of a sinner: pure joy that one of his sons or daughters has returned home.
God desires and longs to pour out his mercy upon you. He wants you back home with him and he will not stop searching for you until you are found. Don’t let the shame of your past, the shame of your sins keep you from God. No matter what, repent and rejoice.
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