Lk 15:1-10
1The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to [Jesus], 2but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3So to them he addressed this parable. 4“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? 5And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy 6and, 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.’ 7I 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.
8“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? 9And 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.’ 10In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
JESUS' IMAGE OF GOD: It is not Jesus’ attitude toward the outcasts of Jewish society which is the issue in today’s Gospel. Rather, it is the Pharisees’ image of God: a stern judge who will separate the sinners from the righteous. Well does their name speak of their view: they are “Pharisees” (Hebrew perushim)—the “separated ones.” Jesus tries to correct this view by sharing with them parables that depict God patiently seeking for the lost and rejoicing when his search is rewarded. The evangelist Luke groups three in one chapter (Lk 15): the parable of the Lost Sheep, the parable of the Lost Coin, and the parable of the Lost Son.
Why is the lost one so sought after? The reason is not explicit in Luke. The apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, a second century collection of sayings of Jesus, feels the need to explain the special relationship between the seeker and the lost. In the parable of the Lost Sheep, the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and looks for the lost one: the largest. When he has gone to such trouble, he says to the sheep, “I love you more than the ninety-nine.”
The central feature of Jesus’ teaching is the vision of the mercy, love, and forgiveness of God. This love also has to govern the relationships which his disciples have for one another. They cannot judge, condemn, or set aside others. They must look for ways by which they can show what love, mercy, and forgiveness mean in their lives and in their relationships.