Trinity III- Luke 15:1-10

 The Gospel from Luke 15:1-10 contains two brief parables: the lost sheep and the lost coin.   A shepherd who loses one sheep out of a hundred and a housewife who loses one coin out of ten make great efforts to recover what has been lost. And when they do recover the lost sheep or coin, they rejoice greatly. These parables illustrate the divine attitude toward sinners. God cares for every soul, no matter how insignificant that person might seem. He searches for the lost, and He and all of heaven rejoice over every soul recovered.

These parables apply to us. We all belong to God, but at different times or in different ways, we get lost. Yet, each of us has great value to God, and He keeps seeking us. He offers us His amazing grace in Word and Sacrament; He takes the initiative even when we are unaware. If we have already been found by Him, we should be grateful to Him and live accordingly. If we are still wandering like lost sheep, we should be aware of God's desire to find us and accept His mercy.  We should always be aware of the divine grace that seeks us, and we should respond in humble gratitude. We should also acknowledge that the same divine grace is seeking the people around us.

Trinity III- Luke 15:1-10

 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!

Trinity III- Luke 15:1-10

 The Gospel from St. Luke 15:1- 10 contains two brief but well-known two brief parables: the lost sheep and the lost coin.  The parables illustrate the importance and power of divine grace. Human beings tend to be very concerned about what they lose. Thus, a shepherd who loses one sheep out of a hundred and a housewife who loses one coin out of ten will make great efforts to recover what has been lost. And when they do recover the lost item, they rejoice greatly. Christ's parables present the divine attitude toward sinners as being similar to people who find lost items. Our heavenly Lord is concerned over the loss of any soul, no matter how insignificant that person might seem to the world. He keeps searching for the lost, and He and all of heaven rejoice over every soul recovered.

These parables apply to us. We all belong to God, but at various times in different ways, we get lost and God seeks to find us. Each of us has great value to God, and He seeks us out. He offers us His amazing grace in Word and Sacrament; He takes the initiative even when we are unaware. If we have already been found by Him, we should be grateful to Him and live accordingly. If we are still wandering like lost sheep, we should be aware of God's desire to find us and accept His mercy. In either case, human beings should be more aware of and more appreciative of divine mercy and grace.