Luke 15:1-10

Philippians 3:3-8a

Psalm 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Luke 15:1-10

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,

but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 

So Jesus addressed this parable to them.

“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them

would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert

and go after the lost one until he finds it?

And when he does find it,

he sets it on his shoulders with great joy

and, upon his arrival home,

he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,

‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 

I tell you, in just the same way

there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine righteous people

who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one

would not light a lamp and sweep the house,

searching carefully until she finds it?

And when she does find it,

she calls together her friends and neighbors

and says to them,

‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’

In just the same way, I tell you,

there will be rejoicing among the angels of God

over one sinner who repents.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I pray that you may find me when I am lost. For my part, I will seek you in all good things. I am thankful for the gift of your grace that empowers me to do good works.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Parable of the Lost Sheep: In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus prepares for the Parable of the Prodigal Son and his Older Brother (Luke 15:11-32) by telling two parables. The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7) focuses on God’s concern for sinners who are like the younger, prodigal son. The twist in the parable is that the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine. Any sensible shepherd would just cut their losses. They still have 99 sheep, losing one is no big deal. God, however, is not a sensible shepherd. He is madly in love with each one of us. He knows each one of us by name. We are each precious to God, and he will do whatever it takes to bring us back into the flock of his sheep.

2. The Parable of the Lost Coin: The second parable, the Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10), applies especially to those who are like the Pharisees and scribes. They haven’t wandered far like the lost sheep. They are in the house of God, but they are lost too! Just as Jesus seeks out the lost sheep, he will seek out the lost coin. We are familiar with both groups of people. We know family members, friends, coworkers, and others who have fallen into “sins of the flesh” and have left the Church. We also know people who remain in the Church but are like the scribes and Pharisees. They refuse to welcome sinners, they judge them no matter what they do, and they relate to God more like an accountant than a Father. Instead of growing in love for God and their brothers and sisters, they check off boxes of external pious practices and are confidently self-righteous because of all the sins they are avoiding. They refuse to celebrate God’s mercy. They are lost in the House of God and need to be found. Jesus asks us to imitate the merciful father, who goes to the older son and asks him to celebrate the return of his brother and welcome him into the family once more. He asks us to imitate the woman who searches her house for the lost coin and calls all her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her when she finds it.

3. Legal Righteousness vs. Divine Righteousness: In the Letter to the Philippians, Paul puts the congregation on guard against Judaizing missionaries, who, should they make their way to the city of Philippi, would likely pressure them to receive circumcision. Paul argues that he, as an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin and an observant Pharisee, was circumcised according to the Law. He contrasts that legal righteousness based on the Law of Moses with the surpassing divine righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ. Circumcision was only a symbolic ritual of something greater yet to come. This something greater is the Sacrament of Baptism, which incorporates us into Christ, washes away our sin, and makes us children of God. We are not to place our confidence in our flesh or the legal righteousness of the Old Law. We are to be confident in the divine righteousness we have received through faith in Jesus Christ under the New Covenant. “For Paul, legal righteousness is not a saving righteousness because it depends on human effort apart from the inward grace of God” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 361).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I trust in you. You offer me the wonderful gift of divine righteousness. When I stray, you do not abandon me but seek me out as a Good Shepherd and bring me home on your shoulders.

Living the Word of God: Am I more like the lost sheep or the lost coin? Do I struggle to overcome habitual sins of sensuality, the flesh, and pleasure? Or are my sins more spiritual ones, like pride, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy?