A Reflection for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Unusual Time
“And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I actually have found the coin that I lost.’” (Lk 15:9)
In some ways, today’s readings are each the best and probably the most difficult to reflect on. If I were preaching today, I can be tempted to easily rise up and reread the Gospel a couple of times over. What more is there to say, really? The three parables of Luke 15 have been said to contain a “Gospel inside a Gospel.” The lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son, told in such quick succession, give us a cliffs notes of Jesus’ message: God has an infinite capability for mercy. Centuries later, the plots, characters and pictures should proceed to shock and disorient our logic of forgiveness.
But since simply asking you to reread the Gospel may be viewed as a preacher’s shortcut (and since, as a subscriber, you’ve paid good money for this reflection), I’ll offer one common thread (amongst many) that may be easy to miss in all three parables: celebration.
Do I do know the best way to rejoice at all times? Or do I simply move on to the following task, the following item on my to-do list?
After the shepherd finds his lost sheep, “he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,‘Rejoice with me because I actually have found my lost sheep.’” Once the girl finds her lost coin, “she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I actually have found the coin that I lost.’” And there may be in fact the third act of the prodigal son, where the son returns and the daddy instructs his servants to “Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then allow us to have a good time with a feast.”
These will not be minor transitional lines. In truth, descriptions of celebration make up nearly half of the word count in the primary two parables. You may even wonder concerning the economics of the celebrations. The party might need cost greater than the found coin was price.
The enjoyment God experiences after finding the lost is a joy that we’re called to mirror as a Christian community. In “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis writes: “An evangelizing community is crammed with joy; it knows the best way to rejoice at all times. It celebrates every small victory, every step forward within the work of evangelization.”
It knows the best way to rejoice at all times. Do I do know the best way to rejoice at all times? Do I have a good time the wins, big and small? Do I invite my friends to share in my joy? Or do I simply move on to the following task, the following item on my to-do list?
Today’s Gospel is a reminder that taking a break to have a good time isn’t something we want to feel guilty about. For Christians, it’s essential to constructing the dominion of God.
