Images of Mercy

Gospel: Luke 15: 1-10

Today's Gospel portion provides us with two images of God and mercy.  The first image is a traditional one - that of a shepherd caring for his sheep.  In this parable the shepherd does something no real tender of sheep would do - abandon ninety-nine sheep to find a lost one.  Yet, the unlikeliness of the example is the point Jesus intends to give us: God would go to any lengths to save one lost soul because every person has value and worth.  

The second image is not a traditional at all, one that is quite shocking now as then.  Here, the image of God is that of a woman in search of a lost coin.  This example is much more believable and relates to people's common experience.  The woman needs that coin for her livelihood and existence.  She will search high and low for it.  In the same way, God has great need of each person, each being as valuable to God as each coin is valuable to the woman.  Representing God as a vulnerable woman says a great deal.  

These two parables serve as preambles to a parable not given in today's portion - the Prodigal Son.  While a sheep and a coin are valuable in an analogous way, a child is of even greater value.  God sees each of us as a child in the household of God.  Each child is wanted, each one loved.  The mercy of God will take great risks for each person, even leaving the house to search the highways and byways until the child is found and brought home.  As that is God's mercy to us, so it must be our mercy to the world.