15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. ² This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

³ So Jesus told them this story: ⁴ “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. ⁶ When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³ “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. ¹⁴ About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵ He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

²⁰ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

²² “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. ²³ And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, ²⁶ and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

²⁸ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, ²⁹ but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. ³⁰ Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

³¹ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. ³² We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Luke 15

Dear God, these three parables go together so I am going to take them together. I noticed something I’ve never notice before because I don’t think I’ve ever looked at these parables as being told at the same time and in the same context. What I noticed is that each one describes you as not only being delighted when you find us when we are lost, but you also celebrate it with others. Each of these parables includes inviting others to join in your celebration. The angels? I suppose. Whomever it is you celebrating with, this is not just a mild enjoyment you get from finding us again. It’s a celebration. What that tells me is that much celebration comes from a lot of pain and anguish.

How do you experience pain? What is that like for you? I’ll confess that I experienced that kind of pain even today. Something happened that brought some of my pain over relationships lost to the surface and I sat by myself and wept today. And I cannot imagine the joy I would feel if those relationships were even somewhat restored. So what about you. For that much celebration described by Jesus, how much more so are you experiencing the pain of the loss?

So that’s what makes you amazing. You make yourself vulnerable to pain when it comes to your relationships with us. We are so small and insignificant when compared with you, and yet you (as Jesus) describe yourself as being unbelievably happy when we return. You’re amazing!

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I might address another time the older brother in the last story, but right now I just want to sit with this idea of your pain and anguish over us as individuals. Oh, how I don’t want to cause you pain. Sure, if I stay with you then there isn’t a need for the big celebration. That’s okay. My love for you is such that I just want to be a source of joy for your Holy Spirit, for Jesus, and for the Father. It’s not about a party thrown over me, but about a lack of pain for you caused by me. Help me to live into that desire.

I offer you this prayer in the name of my Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Amen