15/06/2026
SERMON for the 3rd Sunday after Trinity
1 Peter 5:5-11; Luke 15:1-10.
THE LOST SHEEP
The passage of the Lost Sheep is one of the most well-known in the Gospel. Our Lord Jesus Christ refers to “all the publicans and sinners” (Luke 15:1). But it is aimed at “the Pharisees and scribes [who] murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” (verse 2).
Notice the difference in attitudes: “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.” (verse 1). They were drawn to Jesus, moved by the Holy Spirit, and they thought that Christ could remedy their situation as fallen and discredited men. Indeed, the collectors of the Roman tax collaborated with the occupier, and the sinners felt crushed by guilt. They have sinned out of weakness, and now they are depressed, even weaker than in the first place. They are well aware that they cannot get by alone and without help. Could Jesus be the One the world was waiting for to redeem lost sinners, by blotting out sin from the world? Certainly yes! And his parabolic speech to the Pharisees shows this well enough.
The Pharisees and the scholars of the Law - the Scribes - do not come to Jesus to listen to Him, but to criticize Him “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” (Luke 15:2). They are deaf to the Master's words, but they see very well the actions He takes: Jesus compromises Himself with sinners! What a horror! In reality, throughout his earthly journey, our Lord Jesus Christ only compromised Himself FOR sinners. Nuance. He gave Himself up to death on an infamous cross, in order to save the Father's elect. And as God incarnate, Christ does not need to justify Himself. He therefore explains his action by means of a parable, a comparison by which he turns the judgment of the Pharisees and the Scribes against them. And in the end, they will be the ones who will be judged...
“And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?'” At the outset, Jesus accuses them: “What man of you...” The parabolic discourse of Christ is not lost in generalities. He immediately captures the attention of listeners by involving them directly, personally. This is what every evangelist should do.
Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about speaking in a vacuum, or listening to oneself speak, or making a speech of general morality. We don't preach to anybody, but to people... In this case, Jesus preaches to high-ranking personalities, apparently superior to Him. The Pharisees are perfect observers of the Law, but they conceive of a pride that makes them unbearable to others and to God, so great is their contempt for sinners. Where is their mercy? Where is their compassion? They are only there to condemn, reject and disqualify. But they are careful not to tell about their daily falls. They want to save a good face by keeping a clean façade. As for the inside of their hearts, it is not as beautiful to see as they pretend. Jesus will say to them, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matthew 23:27-28). In fact, instead of criticizing the Lord; they would have done better to sit down at the table with the sinners and the collectors of the Roman tax TO LISTEN to Christ. They did not think, and the thought that their criticism called for a defense response from Jesus that would compel them to listen to Him did not occur to them, for their spirit is evil.
“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” 100 sheep is a small flock. The flocks of Abraham and Lot were so numerous that they had to separate into different regions in order to graze them: “And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.” (Genesis 13:6). Similarly, Job's sheep were swarming, “his substance is increased in the land” (Job 1:10c). And the smaller the flock, the more value is placed on each ewe. Losing one ewe when you have thousands is not a big loss. It is hardly that we notice his disappearance. On the other hand, losing a good breeder when you have few is like taking a step towards ruin.
Jesus does not specify whether the search for the lost sheep takes place on the Sabbath. We know that He healed and performed many miracles on the Sabbath, for there was an emergency: “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.” (Matthew 12:8-12). Jesus' answer is irrevocable. Caught in their own trap and offended, “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.” (Matthew 12:14). Killing a disturbing man is indeed a radical way to silence him!
But the parable of the lost sheep does not end there. It goes on to describe the joy of the Good Shepherd who finds his dear and precious sheep, the one for whom he took all the risks, including that of losing all the rest of the flock, in order to save even one: YOU!
“And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.” (Luke 15:5-6). Note the possessive: " MY sheep ". Although lost, it belongs to Him! (John 10:3b): " ... and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” Notice, then, that the flock of the redeemed is few, and that each one is called by name, a name that God knows even if the person did not receive it at baptism but otherwise, and that God knows us from all eternity. We belong to Him, He comes to get us because we are lost, not knowing the way to the sheepfold. It is not we who go to Christ, but Christ who comes to seek us, He takes us on His shoulders and leads us into His fold: His Church and His eternal Heaven.
Jesus concludes this parable with these words: “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7). And He returns to the reality of the debate with the Pharisees, a few verses later (verse 10): “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” This heavenly joy is coupled with the satisfaction of knowing that Christ's unique sacrifice on the cross was not in vain.
This joy surprises the angels, but it is not a surprise to God who had anticipated it, like the Father of the Prodigal Son who awaited the return of His Son (Luke 15:20b): “... But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” The Father saw his son from afar, for every day he watched, scanned the horizon, waiting for his well expected return. Note also that it is the Father who runs to his son, and not the other way round. The son is sheepish, fearful, feeling guilty. But his return to the Father's house is a mark of his repentance. “A money wound is not mortal”, says the proverb. Then the Father runs and embraces him as a sign of welcome, forgiveness and acceptance. The Father rehabilitates his son. He restored him to His dwelling, where nothing could be lacking (Psalm 23:1-3): “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake” Not because of our works, nor our own decision, but because of His Name!
The parable of the lost Drachma is a parallel to that of the lost sheep. The difference is that it is aimed at women. In the Middle-East, their only wealth is their dowry, since everything else belongs to their husband. Not having a safe, they wear their dowry on their foreheads, hanging from their hairstyles, like a metal fringe. It is also a way of displaying their social rank, just as soldiers wear their rank prominently, in the form of stripes, as everyone knows. Sometimes one of the silver coins that make up the dowry would come loose, fall to the ground and roll towards an unknown destination, without leaving any address. As soon as she notices this, the woman sets out to look for him “... till she find it” (Luke 15:8c).
“And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.” (verse 9). She doesn't call her husband! He is not involved, because his wife's dowry does not belong to him. The dowry is a pledge of fidelity that the woman takes with her if her husband repudiates her, so as not to end up on the street and to avoid being forced to pr******te herself in order to survive.
“... she calleth her friends and her neighbours together...” The whole neighborhood is invited to rejoice with her. For decorum, only women are invited, a bit like for a bachelorette party. All the women of the parish are invited to participate in revelry, singing and dancing, in order to share the joy of recovering the coin, not only for its value, but because of the part of feminine dignity that it represents.
In the same way, when we enter the Church through Baptism and Confirmation, or when we return to it after a period of absence, we are an occasion for collective rejoicing, not only in the parish, but also in Heaven, where “... there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10b).
This is why Peter, in his first epistle, recommends that we submit to the elders (1 Peter 5:5a): “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.” But who is that elder, you may ask? It is all the generations of Christians who have gone before us, going back to the Apostles and Jesus Christ, and consequently their traditional biblical teaching.
The same passage from the Epistle of Peter concludes in verse 11: “To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Our little muscular arms will never have the strength to do what God does. But God gives us the strength to maintain the truth of what the older generations have handed down to us: the deposit of faith (2 Timothy 1:13-14): “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” Our strength is in Christ: (1 Peter 5:10): “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” Here, Peter speaks from his own experience!
And Peter is therefore right to invite us to drape ourselves with humility by placing ourselves “under the mighty hand of God” (verse 6), by being “sober” and “vigilant” (verse 8). We do not know how to fight Satan, because he is invisible. But God will fight him for us if we ask Him in prayer. Those who do not pray to God just give themselves up to Satan as Judas gave Jesus Christ to the same. But Judas was acting in vain, for Christ is alive, risen, and we too will be alive on the last day.
(1 Corinthians 6:2a... 3a): “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? … Know ye not that we shall judge angels?”. So, let's judge people! But let's start by judging ourselves before God, in conscience, and the compassion flooding our hearts will soften our judgment of others! Amen.
Rt. Rev. Yves Méra, AOC Bishop of France.
