Scripture:‘What woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’ (Luke 15.8-10)ReflectionThe self-righteous folk of Jesus’ time were typical of most of us in every age, I fear. It’s only in a religious context that people use the word ‘sinner’, but everyone has an acute sense of right and wrong, and that can make us swift to condemn others for their failures (= sins) and to reckon that they must pay the price.Jesus’ answer to those who said he should not talk or socialise with bad folk, ‘sinners’, was to stress God’s hope for a change of heart, ‘repentance’, by speaking of the joy of the angels over even and every one who came to see the light.Am I totally on the side of the angels?David Harmsworth
