Luke 15 with Impactful Parables: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Luke 15 has three impactful parables

·      The famous one was the third honing in with the Prodigal Son, the Father and the Older brother

·      As I could have chosen a shorter reading, I always read the entire scriptures as our Church always brings in the focus of the whole passage, even though it may feel “too long”

o   Well, sometimes that takes place in practice, homework, hunting, fishing as part of the process with patience

·      So after our patience for each of these parables, let’s think about the first two

The lost sheep

·      Now let us imagine you were a shepherd almost 2000 years ago and you had a flock with 100 sheep

o   This is your business especially with shearing each sheep to sell their wool to support your family

·      Now, imagine leaving 99 of your sheep which you could lose them all to find one

o   Back in the day, I think that this shepherd would be nuts

o   They could literally leave everything for the business, the finances, food

o   That does not make sense!

·      Well, what Jesus is teaching is His unusual and extravagance LOVE

o   “‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.”

The lost coin

·      The next parable about the person trying to find one coin, and not like a bar of gold, but a coin

·      Imagine you, looking throughout your house, every nook and cranny of it, as well as your vehicle

·      Then you find it—say a penny, and then with it to call a celebration and a party, beyond what you even have

o   ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”

·      Once again, Jesus is showing how bizarre God’s love is, and we are that person at the fringe of outside the normality I would ask you to think of two ways to grow

·      First, when Jesus finds you, aka, when you open your heart to be found

o   Also, one way to be found by Jesus is to be forgiven off the path like the sheep, or be hidden in your journey, and you can do that by simply going to confession

·      Second, how you can you find that sheep, or that one coin, aka, those who are outside of your friends, your circle of loved ones, and go beyond your normal life to find your brother or sister to be found for Jesus?

We are to hunt, fish, live to seek the lost person back to God’s family