The Gospel for the Third Sunday after Trinity is Luke 15:1-10, and it contains two brief parables- about the lost sheep and about the lost coin. In this context, our Lord is talking about sinners lost to God. Although many contemporary people resist such descriptions, Scripture in general and our passage in particular are clear that at some points in this life, all human beings are lost. We need finding and saving by divine grace. As the daily general confession in the Book of Common Prayer says, "We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep" (based on Isaiah 53:6 and 1 Peter 2:25).
Such human lostness has two important applications in our lives. First, each of us needs to admit that at different times, we have all been lost. We also need to acknowledge our tendency to get lost repeatedly. So we all depend upon God's mercy, grace, and persistence in seeking us out-- in the past, in the present, and in each new day.
Secondly, in addition to being sought by God, as Christians, we are called to participate in the Lord's work of seeking and finding the lost. We are asked to be lowly instruments of God's grace. We have benefited from the mercy and grace of God, and we want to share that good news with others. We want each lost person to be found. We want all people to know the joy of returning to God. May each of us be found by God, and may each of us humbly do our part to help others be found by God!
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