Today’s gospel offers us two parables that illustrate God’s love and joy for sinners who return to him: the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin. The first is certainly more well-known and, I dare say, more well-loved than the other. Naturally, the image of a lost animal tugs at our heart strings more than the image of lost money. The parable of the lost coin may even seem strange and out of place, going against the Christian values of detachment to material things and our reliance on God. Why rejoice over money?
But obviously, there is more to it than that. We do not know what the woman intends to do with her ten coins. Will she use it to buy food, clothing, goods for her home, a gift for a family member? After all, money is a means to an end, and at best, it can help us to sustain life, to make life livable. If we see it this way, we can discern a great, life-filled hope in the woman’s search. This is a beautiful image of God, a God who ceaselessly seeks us out, who wishes to bring us to wholeness, a God with great hopes who wishes to bring us to the fullness of life. And when we come to this truth, there is reason for rejoicing in heaven and on earth.