In the Gospel lesson for this week for those of us using the Revised Common Lectionary, Luke 15:1-10, we find the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. The grumbling of the Pharisees and the scribes in Luke 15:1-2, is actually our holy hope: This Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. That our God wills to seek and to save the lost is not only a holy hope, it is our only hope.

As Paul’s first letter to Timothy reminds us,“The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

Jesus tells these two parables in response to the grumbling of the scribes and Pharisees that not only did He eat with sinners but that He also hosted and received them at His table.

The introduction to the parable of the Lost Sheep would have jolted the Pharisees out of their accustomed roles and piety. Jesus asks the question, “What if one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them?”

This question would have been a shock to the Pharisees and would have amused those sitting at Jesus table. Tending sheep was something that you avoided if you were a pious Jew. Pious Jews lumped this occupation with tax collectors and was considered a much lower-class occupation than being a scribe or Pharisee.

The image of a shepherd losing a sheep would have reminded the Pharisees about Ezekiel 34 where religious leaders were criticized because God’s sheep were scattered and “my shepherds have not searched for my sheep.” (Ezekiel 34:6-8)

Since in Ezekiel and in other places in the Old Testament, God seeks and cares for the straying sheep, hearers of the parable and later readers of the Gospel of Luke, would see the parable as an allusion to God’s action made present in the ministry of Jesus to the marginal and outcasts. It would have been quite a surprise when the hearers heard that the shepherd left the 99 on the hills. When the shepherd finds the lost sheep, he puts it on his shoulders and returns home rejoicing. He then invites others to rejoice with him.

This parable as well as the parable of the Lost Coin is characterized by surprise, extravagance and joy. These parables have a similar structure and development. Something of value is lost (the word lost appears five times in the seven verses). The one who loses it expends unusual effort in finding it, and the finding is an occasion of joy, expressed in celebration with neighbors and friends.

The Parable of the Lost Coin was just as shocking to those who were present. When Jesus says,” Or suppose a woman has 10 silver coins and loses one”, Jesus uses a woman as the lead character in this parable. He uses someone who suffered religious and social discrimination in first-century society. To compare God to a woman would have shocked and surprised the audience and challenged their fundamental image of God.

The hearers are now challenged to see the searching woman as a metaphor for God’s searching love, which paves the way for a new way of thinking about how God acts toward the sinner and the outcast. God seeks them out and rejoices more over finding them than over the presence of the righteous. By including the parable of the coin, Luke reflects his interest in the gifts and roles of women in the community.

Today’s readings give witness that God has a heart for losers. God reconciles with the idol-worshiping people of Israel. The risen Lord calls the violent, blasphemous persecutor, Paul. The faithful shepherd rescues the wandering sheep and carries it home. The woman who lost one of her 10 silver coins searches for it until she finds it.

Similarly, God doesn’t abandon people even when people abandon God. The cross and resurrection testify to God’s faithfulness in that regard. God rescues strays one by one, making the first move to find the lost and create new hearts in them.

When Moses holds God to promises already made in the covenant, the breathtaking picture emerges of a God so committed to relationship that God is influenced — changed — by what people need and ask. This faithfulness of God, shared with overflowing grace in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus, is patient, forgiving, energetic, and ready to celebrate.

Take the bread and cup — Jesus hosts the worshiping assembly again this week to welcome sinners and eat with them. Suddenly, “sinner” is no longer the best name for us. Try “guest,” “graced,” “gifted,” “loved,” and “empowered.”

Then it’s time to follow Jesus out of the gathered assembly and into the world as apprentice sleuths for missing persons, bent on finding the lost and the broken and giving them an invitation to come home.