Luke 15:1-10 (NRSV)
Read Luke 15:1-10 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 15Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. Verse 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." Verse 3So he told them this parable: Verse 4"Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? Verse 5When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. Verse 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Verse 7Just 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. Verse 8"Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? Verse 9When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Verse 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Devotion
On the one hand, these twin parables speak to us about sinners who repent and God’s joy. On the other hand, these stories tell us something about who this God is. The God revealed here is a God of passion, a God who searches high and low until the lost are found. Our God is like the shepherd who risks leaving the 99 to search for the one. Our God is like a woman who frantically sweeps her house looking for that one, precious lost coin.
And when the lost is found? The amazing thing is this: this shepherd, instead of beating the sheep with his rod all the way back to the fold so the pain of punishment is remembered if the sheep thinks of wandering off again, this shepherd lays the sheep on his shoulders and rejoices! There’s only one way to describe such tender care: amazing grace!
Prayer
Savior, like a shepherd who searches for the lost, find us once again. In your tender care, carry us back into the good grace of the Father, so that we, too, will know the eternal joy of God’s mercy. Amen.