Luke 15:8-10: “8“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9“When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ 10“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The second of a series of three parables told in succession by Jesus to the sinners and tax collectors and the complaining Pharisees and Scribes because of the fact Jesus ate with the sinners and tax collectors. In the first one, Jesus pointed out to this crowd about the one lost sheep and how the shepherd did not rest until that sheep was found even though he had ninety-nine sheep safe in the pasture. He went looking for that one sheep who was in danger.
Maybe because Jesus noted on their faces that some did not get what he was trying to tell them that one lost sheep mattered even if there were ninety-nine sheep who were safe. Maybe some of them got it, but not all and since Jesus was trying to reach the sinners, the tax collectors, Pharisees and the Scribes. They all mattered to him. So, he told the same story in a different way.
When Jesus began the story, he told the story of a woman (maybe there were women in the group following him on this day). He does not mention her husband so maybe she is a widow, and no longer has the protection of a husband or a father. In this time, women rarely were on their own. They lived in the house of the nearest male relative, but sometimes widows or women who had been cast out lived by themselves, and each dime (USA money) was precious. She had ten dimes and so she had one dollar. She goes to count the coins, maybe she needs to buy some meal to make her some bread, but she finds that one of the dimes is missing. She goes and lights a lamp and looks in every darken corner of her house. She also sweeps the floor to find that one coin. A neighbor sees her fretting and asked her what was wrong and she told them she had lost one of her dimes and has not enough money to buy some meal to make bread. Maybe the neighbor helps her look., and maybe another one looks also for they know that this will mean their friend will go hungry. She looks high and low and maybe sits down broken hearted, and there that silver coin catches the light and gleams. She calls to her friends, and said come celebrate with me. “I have found my lost dime.” They celebrate with her. Jesus looks at the crowd listening hanging on every word and says, “This is joy in heaven in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” I am sure that in some of those that listened they understood this. Maybe that woman who lives by herself and struggles to have food and a roof over her head. I believe that Jesus gave, at the moment, he said that parable to that crowd that one person there was in need of such a message much like today that this parable speaks to the one person who needs to hear that message.
I also believe that among the women who followed Him they got this one more than the parable of the lost sheep. They understood better than the men what it cost to run a household. Women always do know better what it takes to run a household. They also knew how difficult it was to be poor at any time in life. It is still difficult.
I certainly have a good understanding of how difficult it can be. In 2008, my mother died leaving me alone to care for this house. I did fine for about two years and then I was hit hard in the winter of 2010 -2011. I had all these cats, the Inheritance, that she left me. I had three cats inside who were my pets. I had spent about $1000 on gravel for my driveway and three weeks later all of it washed away. I remember standing out in the rain trying to stop it disappearing down into the grass, but it was useless, and I stood there in the winter rain freezing to the bone and crying. It was a cold winter that year. My propane gas heating bill was $3,900. I had lost my buffer zone in just a few months. There were weeks I went cold. There were months when people helped me feed the Inheritance. There were times all I ate was peanut butter sandwiches. I would go to bed at night sometimes I was just too tired to cry. I felt I was trapped in a terrible place. One coin lost was a big deal to me.
A coin found was a blessing. I found myself rejoicing over the least little find. I did not get this parable until I had walked in the shoes of having to make some very tough choices. I used to love winter the best, but since that winter, I have a fear of it and if I will have enough coins to make it through another winter. It is something I am working on. The lesson I learned during that time of loss was to depend more on God and on others. I am a very independent kind of woman so I am not sure which one has been the most difficult for me. As I said, I still have a fear, which those kind of times can instill in a person. But each day I get up and each day I decide to trust God one more time to get me through whatever that day may bring.
I like to think that on that day when I accepted Jesus and asked for my sins to be forgiven that Joy was present and the Angels of God rejoiced over my choice that day. So when I hear this parable, I understand it more than I did before, and I am ever thankful for the rejoicing in heaven.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for looking for me when I was lost. Thank you for rejoicing over me. Thank you for all those you rejoice over. Please keep us all safe and bless us with the joy of heaven.
Amen
Ever in Christ’s love,
Mary Elizabeth Todd
The second of a series of three parables told in succession by Jesus to the sinners and tax collectors and the complaining Pharisees and Scribes because of the fact Jesus ate with the sinners and tax collectors. In the first one, Jesus pointed out to this crowd about the one lost sheep and how the shepherd did not rest until that sheep was found even though he had ninety-nine sheep safe in the pasture. He went looking for that one sheep who was in danger.
Maybe because Jesus noted on their faces that some did not get what he was trying to tell them that one lost sheep mattered even if there were ninety-nine sheep who were safe. Maybe some of them got it, but not all and since Jesus was trying to reach the sinners, the tax collectors, Pharisees and the Scribes. They all mattered to him. So, he told the same story in a different way.
When Jesus began the story, he told the story of a woman (maybe there were women in the group following him on this day). He does not mention her husband so maybe she is a widow, and no longer has the protection of a husband or a father. In this time, women rarely were on their own. They lived in the house of the nearest male relative, but sometimes widows or women who had been cast out lived by themselves, and each dime (USA money) was precious. She had ten dimes and so she had one dollar. She goes to count the coins, maybe she needs to buy some meal to make her some bread, but she finds that one of the dimes is missing. She goes and lights a lamp and looks in every darken corner of her house. She also sweeps the floor to find that one coin. A neighbor sees her fretting and asked her what was wrong and she told them she had lost one of her dimes and has not enough money to buy some meal to make bread. Maybe the neighbor helps her look., and maybe another one looks also for they know that this will mean their friend will go hungry. She looks high and low and maybe sits down broken hearted, and there that silver coin catches the light and gleams. She calls to her friends, and said come celebrate with me. “I have found my lost dime.” They celebrate with her. Jesus looks at the crowd listening hanging on every word and says, “This is joy in heaven in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” I am sure that in some of those that listened they understood this. Maybe that woman who lives by herself and struggles to have food and a roof over her head. I believe that Jesus gave, at the moment, he said that parable to that crowd that one person there was in need of such a message much like today that this parable speaks to the one person who needs to hear that message.
I also believe that among the women who followed Him they got this one more than the parable of the lost sheep. They understood better than the men what it cost to run a household. Women always do know better what it takes to run a household. They also knew how difficult it was to be poor at any time in life. It is still difficult.
I certainly have a good understanding of how difficult it can be. In 2008, my mother died leaving me alone to care for this house. I did fine for about two years and then I was hit hard in the winter of 2010 -2011. I had all these cats, the Inheritance, that she left me. I had three cats inside who were my pets. I had spent about $1000 on gravel for my driveway and three weeks later all of it washed away. I remember standing out in the rain trying to stop it disappearing down into the grass, but it was useless, and I stood there in the winter rain freezing to the bone and crying. It was a cold winter that year. My propane gas heating bill was $3,900. I had lost my buffer zone in just a few months. There were weeks I went cold. There were months when people helped me feed the Inheritance. There were times all I ate was peanut butter sandwiches. I would go to bed at night sometimes I was just too tired to cry. I felt I was trapped in a terrible place. One coin lost was a big deal to me.
A coin found was a blessing. I found myself rejoicing over the least little find. I did not get this parable until I had walked in the shoes of having to make some very tough choices. I used to love winter the best, but since that winter, I have a fear of it and if I will have enough coins to make it through another winter. It is something I am working on. The lesson I learned during that time of loss was to depend more on God and on others. I am a very independent kind of woman so I am not sure which one has been the most difficult for me. As I said, I still have a fear, which those kind of times can instill in a person. But each day I get up and each day I decide to trust God one more time to get me through whatever that day may bring.
I like to think that on that day when I accepted Jesus and asked for my sins to be forgiven that Joy was present and the Angels of God rejoiced over my choice that day. So when I hear this parable, I understand it more than I did before, and I am ever thankful for the rejoicing in heaven.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for looking for me when I was lost. Thank you for rejoicing over me. Thank you for all those you rejoice over. Please keep us all safe and bless us with the joy of heaven.
Amen
Ever in Christ’s love,
Mary Elizabeth Todd