Daily Devotional • November 13
A Reading from Luke 15:1-10
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Meditation
The past few day’s lessons show Jesus setting a startlingly high standard for discipleship. Without in the least lowering that standard, in today’s lesson we see another side of what that entails. Few of us, I am sure, have taken care of flocks of sheep. In Sunday School books and stained glass windows, we have wonderful images of Jesus carrying a lamb on his shoulders and we get the idea, but I’ll bet that for most of us, the image is more sentimental than personal and moving.
Maybe we would really get the point if we think of it like this. You look up in the huge department store or grocery store or big public park, and realize that your small child is missing. You have no idea when she wandered off or where she might be. You think of the dangers she might encounter: a major accident, a kidnaper, a bully. She cannot defend herself. The hairs on the back of your neck bristle and your heart rate doubles. You drop everything, and the search becomes your sole, driving concern. Nothing will stop you — not signs that read “Employees Only” or the steep rock-filled slope at the edge of the park.
It is because your love is all-consuming. Your search cannot end until you find your lost child. This is what Jesus’ parable teaches: the love he has for all people is his very nature, and he is especially driven to rescue those who have wandered. Those who are “righteous” have written off these others. John 7:49 comes to mind: “This crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” But for Jesus they are the lost sheep. This parable is really just as shocking as those that came before it, but this time it is about the boundless love of God.
David Baumann is a published writer of nonfiction, science fiction, and short stories. In his ministry as an Episcopal priest, he served congregations in Illinois and California.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Khahlamba – The Anglican Church of Southern Africa
Holy Comforter Episcopal Church, Tallahassee, Florida