The Lost Coin

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

(Luke 15:8-10)

Every one of us has at one time or another lost something. It's a painful thing, especially if the item is particularly valuable or meaningful. No one, for example, likes to lose money because of what money represents: privileges or opportunities to do things or acquire things. Surely many, many hours in a lifetime are spent seeking to find or discover lost or stolen or misplaced coins or bills. And, once they are found, there is indeed much rejoicing. If this is true in regard to inanimate objects, how much more so for lost pets? Or how much more so for a child who became separated from Mom in the mall, or a teenage son who took the wrong exit on the freeway and was several hours finding his way back home? Or how much more joy and rejoicing take place when a spiritually lost person comes back, one who has been rejected or personally damaged by insensitivity or arrogance and chooses to distance himself for many years from the family, the congregation or the community? It's just good to get back that which was lost, especially people.

Though it seems to be a lovely story that focuses on the value of working hard to retrieve a lost item, this parable, when read in context, is in fact an accusation against those who see themselves as perpetually faithful and therefore view others as less worthy. Jesus' words are biting, for he states that there is more joy in heaven over the return of a wandering soul than over 99 persons who need no repentance. And who would they be? Who, exactly, needs no repentance? As Isaiah had written some seven hundred years before Jesus, "all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." (Isaiah 53:6) Only those who are without sin-which is no one-is in a position to condemn others.

In this parable, a precious item is lost because of the neglect of the owner. The woman's heart seems to be right, her motives pure, her desire to retrieve that which is lost genuine. It certainly isn't something she planned to do; unfortunately, the coin was misplaced. In the same way, Jesus is teaching that a brother or sister may be lost through our neglect or our insensitivity; or perhaps we aren't as willing to forgive and forget as we might have been. Whatever the cause, we do all we can to repair the wrongs and then rejoice when the lost one comes back. God is in the business of searching out and finding people and so must we be.