MARCH 24 READINGS…LUKE 15
Chapter 15 of our readings has three parables from Jesus. The first is in response to the Pharisees who attacked Jesus for receiving and eating with sinners. Jesus responds by giving a parable about the loss of one sheep, and the fact that when that happens a good shepherd will leave the flock and go after the one that had wandered away. He wanted the self-righteous and the pious that the very reason Jesus came was to reach and rescue those who are lost in sin. Those who have convinced themselves that they are right and need nothing will never understand why they Lord needed to come. The second parable also deals with the lost. This time Jesus speaks of a woman who has ten coins, but loses one. She will do everything needed to find that coin, and when it’s found will rejoice over finding it. That is the heart of God for the lost. Finally, Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal. We see in this parable one who walks away from the father…we see a loving father…and we see an older brother who stays with the father. The one who leaves comes to his senses when he finally understands there is no place like the father’s house. He returns, and his father restores him with great joy. This causes the older brother to become angry. The father reminds him that what the father possesses is his, and has always been his. Then he tells him that he should be happy that his lost brother has returned home. Our attitude to someone who has walked away and has returned to the Lord, or when someone comes to the Lord for the first time, should be a reason for great rejoicing!
Please share your thoughts from today’s readings.
TOMORROW’S READING…LUKE 16