Sunday 14 September 2025
"Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost." (v. 6)
Background
Do you like a good metaphor? I find even the best metaphor has its limitations, for example take mosaics as a metaphor for our communities – the drawback is that they are traditionally static. If tiles become dislodged and lost from a mosaic, it affects the quality of what is seen. A mosaic isn’t alive: its pieces don’t have jobs, families, feelings, differing spiritual needs and bodies that age and die.
If you read the first 15 chapters of Luke’s Gospel where he was writing about Jesus’ life and ministry, you’ll discover that Jesus’ community mosaic is, by and large, made up of the ones most excluded and those who excluded them: bigots and saints, the self-righteous and self-destructive.
Today we find Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, and I’m struck by the question "Doesn’t he know what message he is sending by hanging out with those people?"
The answer to this question is simply ‘yes'. The message Jesus sends is quite clear and targeted and that’s part of his purpose. God’s story includes coming into the world as one of us to seek and to save the lost; to bring life and wholeness into the places of death and brokenness; to bring hope and purpose into lives that are in despair and chaos; and if you share my earlier observation about the Jesus community mosaic, to search out every single person.
And then there’s the lost coin (v. 8). It was one of ten. To mislay it was significant when we understand that Jewish maidens had ten silver coins sewn into their bridal headdress. It was their dowry and a symbol of the marriage covenant. The coins were deeply meaningful, not only for their monetary value but also for the relational weight they held. But as valuable as the coin is, a coin has no agency in getting itself lost, it cannot make a bad decision. If a coin is lost, it is a victim of circumstance.
Shifting that thought, how often have you thought to yourself, "That child never had a chance"? Back to Jesus' message in verse 10. When this deeply valued one is found, restored, cared for, given a home and wholeness, this is the time to rejoice!
To Ponder:
- Have you had cause to rejoice when the 'lost one' is found? What does this teach you about the beauty and challenge of being part of Jesus' living community mosaic?
- As we think about who we are and who we believe God calls us to be as community, who will fill the gaps that are inevitable in a living mosaic?
Prayer
God of all creation, who creates and sustains community, who loves me and sustains and nurtures me, hear my prayer. May your Spirit-filled embrace, action and guidance help me love myself, seeing my value through your eyes. And may I come to know how I fit into Jesus' community mosaic. Amen.
Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Mark Cheetham
Mark is Superintendent Minister of the Salisbury Circuit and Minister at Salisbury Methodist Church.