Parables of the lost sheep and the coin

Sinners were attracted to Jesus and the Pharisees complained. Sinners followed Jesus because they saw an opportunity to leave their sinful life behind. That’s why we too are attracted to Jesus. We need him; without him we are nothing. The more we see ourselves as sinners, the more we feel Jesus’ attraction. Like a magnet; the closer it is to the iron, the more difficult it is to separate the two. Our world has lost a sense of sin, the natural pull from God. Our society moves around itself without a gravitational force to keep it steady, like a moon without an earth, to keep it from being destroyed by the sun. The lack of God is like a black hole that sucks everything into a void.

This grumbling of the Pharisees, gave an opportunity for Jesus to give us these parables of God’s mercy. In this broken world of ours, the consideration of a Merciful God is very important. When John Paul II was asked what impressed him most about God, he answered: “His infinite mercy.” God said to Saint Catherine of Siena: “Mercy is my darling attribute, and to that end, and for the incomprehensible love I felt towards man, I sent the Word, my only Son; I illustrated this by the representation of a bridge reaching from heaven to earth, uniting the human and divine natures.”

If you could describe Pope Francis’ summary of his pontificate with one word it is “Mercy”. He declared in 2015 a Holy Year of Mercy. He wrote a book titled: “The name of God is mercy”. He says with boldness that “mercy is the first attribute of God.” He wants to remind the modern man living in a field hospital, surrounded by casualties, that “there are no situations we cannot get out of, we are not condemned to sink into quicksand. God does not want anyone to be lost. His mercy is infinitely greater than our sins.” Saint Therese found a weakness in God the Father: “He has one great infirmity. He is blind. And so ignorant of arithmetic that He cannot even add up.”

Jesus gives us two parables that are very similar. Both depict the same actions: loosing, searching, finding and rejoicing. This is our own story, constantly getting lost, God going out searching for us, finding us if we allow him to, bringing us back to him, rejoicing in our encounter with the angels and saints, and lifting us up to a higher level than before. Every time he finds us, instead of punishing us, he rewards us by bringing us a bit closer to himself. God uses our sins to lift us up, to enrich us, to cover our nakedness with his graces.

But both parables emphasise different aspects. In the lost sheep Jesus appears as a Good Shepherd, ready to place us on his shoulders. It is the earliest image we have of Jesus in the catacombs. It shows God’s love for us, ready to leave the other 99 in search of us. Jesus never gives up, always persistent in his search for us, and rejoicing when we come back. Give him the joy of finding you. It’s only if you don’t want to be found, that he won’t be able to bring you back to the flock. The parable of the lost coin shows that every soul is important, that we are unique in God’s eyes, because as in every coin there is normally the face of a ruler, we have the imprint of his image in our soul engraved at Baptism. Make sure you keep it bright and shining.

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