Luke 15: 1 - 3. 11 - 32

Sunday’s gospel is perhaps the most famous of the parables that are unique to the Gospel of Luke. The Pharisees and scribes accuse Jesus of what they regard to be abhorrent behaviour in relation to the purity code that dominated 1st Century life: not only does Jesus welcome sinners, he actually shares meals with them. This accusation leads into the telling of three parables: the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. 

The three parables Jesus tells in response to this accusation are all about the lost being found and great rejoicing over the finding of the lost sheep, lost coin, or lost son. The Gospel of Luke – more so than any of the others – has a very strong focus on the message of Jesus being addressed to and welcomed by the outcasts and marginalised; in other words, the ‘lost’ of his society. Rather than being embarrassed by the accusation that he ate with sinners, Jesus would have worn those words like a badge of honour. It was exactly what his mission and ministry was all about – being one with the poor; the outcast; the sinful; the lost. The three parables, and particularly the parable of the lost son, demonstrate the joy of a loving God when one who was lost returns. The extravagant welcome the prodigal son receives from his father is symbolic of the extravagance of God’s love that will be poured out for any ‘sinner’ who returns to God.