1 Tim 1: 12-17
Lk 15: 1-32 or 15: 1-10
Why did the woman get so excited about finding a drachma? I am no expert on the financial systems of the ancient world, but I cannot imagine that a drachma was worth so much as to call everyone you know to celebrate? Even if it were that same as a days wage, our culture of plenty and waste would not really encourage us to jump up and down. Likewise, its almost illogical that the shepherd would leave all the other sheep alone in the wilderness to find one sheep who had wondered off. But they celebrate.
Lost and found, hidden and uncovered, dark and light. A typical Christian life is lead between these contrasts. One minute we are fine, riding high on grace, with no troubles, doubts or difficulties. In an instant that can all change and we can find ourselves lost.
Like the prodigal son and the lost sheep life can bring us to places that we do not want to go. It is often said 'where would we be without faith?'. A good question. When I preach, do people see and hear a disciple, or are they confronted with Paul's gong booming or empty noise on the wind? Faith in Christ gives us an anchor in the storms of life. No wonder the early Christians used the anchor as a symbol in the Catacombs.
But what of the sheep who do not want to be found? What of the sons and daughters who stay away from the loving Father? Is it enough to hope that they will come back? The Gospel always has an urgency about it. It has to be preached here and now. The Kingdom is in our very midst and the day of salvation is now. When we preach we have to constantly remind ourselves of this. We may never have the chance to proclaim it or hear it again.
There is more rejoicing over the return of one lost sheep. Will the sheep be feed this Sunday, or will the fare of the wild and dangerous places be more alluring? 'O that TODAY you would listen to his voice.'
A drachma was, I understand, approximately a day's wages for a skilled worked.
ReplyDeleteI'm just finished drafting my homily and I'm focusing on the parable of the lost drachma rather than that of the Prodigal Son. The coin was marked with the image of the King who made it. We bear the image and likeness of God. Sin can always be understood as obscuring that image. Sin against other people is a refusal to recognise that image. Christ is the one who turns our house/world upside down to restore the image - not only in teaching us about the 'invisible God' but also by renewing us.
Whilst doing a bit of reading about the Gospel, it should be noted that in the opinion of the Fathers the 9 Drachmae who weren't lost and the 99 sheep who never strayed represent the angels. We can't claim that some/most people never stray from God. The Fathers were quite clear that all the human race went astray.
I was not sure of its value, thanks Fr B.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Barclay says that the 10 Drachmae formed a head-dress that was the equivalent of a wedding ring in our culture. If this is true it would be the equivalent of losing a stone from an engagement ring. The nine left behind would look wrong and incomplete with one drachma missing.
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