Discussion & examination of Luke 15: 8 -10

[Written for Exploring Christianity course] 

Looking at the words without pre-conceptions
In this parable, there is an unnamed woman who loses one silver coin out of a collection of ten and then conducts a painstaking search with the aid of her lamp in order to find it. When she does, she delightedly tells her friends and neighbours about it. Jesus then draws a comparison between her joy and that of the angels in heaven when a sinner repents.
If I lost a genuinely silver coin in my house, I would definitely look for it. Perhaps not as thoroughly straight away. Maybe this coin will pay the woman's rent or is the means to buy food or medicine for the family. As she starts with ten silver coins, this might represent her savings or emergency fund. She lights a lamp; of course, there would be no electricity in the time of Jesus. Maybe it's after sunset or before sunrise, or she lives in a basic dwelling with little natural light. Then she sweeps the house, presumably with some kind of mop or broom. She hasn't got a servant or slaves to help her find her coin, not even family members. She appears to be alone in her home. Is she single, married, or widowed? We don't know. Nor do we know her age or name. And yet, she is easy to picture in her home, searching for her silver coin.
A modern woman might well search for a pound coin or a gold sovereign; or something with intrinsic value like an earring. However, making a big deal out of the retrieval of the artefact is somewhat alien to us. If something valuable had been lost and found, our friends would be pleased for us and that would probably be all. Yet, Jesus tells us that angels rejoice in a similar manner to the woman and her friends whenever sinners repent.



Putting the parable in context
In the previous and following parables, God is pictured as a shepherd finding his lost sheep and the faithful father who runs out to greet us when we return home to him. So extending the analogy logically, God is also a woman looking for something precious, which is each of us. So, does God – as it were – light a lamp and carefully sweep the floor to find us? And why not? There appears to be no problem accepting God as shepherd or welcoming father! Of course, God is ultimately beyond our ideas of male or female.
On the other hand, maybe we are the seekers looking for something precious, like the merchant who sold everything he had to buy the pearl of great price. The shepherd seeking the lost, the father welcoming home the wanderer, the woman looking for her precious coin. In that case, what are we seeking? God himself, or those who do not yet know his love? Both possibilities seem to fit. So, perhaps God plays hide and seek with us! There's a French song about God and us called 'Mystere Beni' in which the lyrics say as much; 'Blessed Mystery, you hide yourself well. At hide and seek you play with us' [Mystere Beni, tu ta bien cacher; a cache cacher, to nous fais jouer].
This parable is a member of a trilogy that Jesus tells after the religious leaders accuse him of welcoming and eating with "sinners." In light of the Pharisees' challenge, Jesus sets out to prove His actions as right in the sight of God. In order to do this, He needs to compare His actions with God's, and contrast God's system of values with that of the Pharisees.
This passage records a parable of Jesus featuring an unnamed woman searching for a lost coin. This parable appears only in Luke and is in the middle of several which are all about lost things or people. Lost sheep, lost coin, lost son. Evidently Luke had a different source for this story; maybe Jesus' mother or a female disciple who remembered it particularly?



Commentary
Seeking things that are lost [especially people] seems to be very important to Jesus. He's also showing that, according to him, God's love is persistent, extravagant and determined to find all the lost. It's the pattern of redemption. Jesus wanted the religious leaders to understand how he felt about those who were lost. When we are lost sinners, we are not just “out there” somewhere away from God. He longed for us so much that he took the ultimate action. He gave us Jesus to cleanse the sinner from sin and restore us to himself. He undertakes the ultimate personal expense to bring us back to himself and God.
According to the Greek, the woman is 'goonay' which can indeed mean a woman or a wife. She 'holds' the ten pieces [possibly not literally!]. The silver coin is a drachma. A Greek drachma = Roman denarius = 2 days' wages for female labourer. Maybe the woman has earned this money? The word for loss [apollumi] can be translated 'destroy', 'die', 'perish'. To light is also 'to set on fire' and the candle is 'lookhnos', a portable lamp [probably an oil lamp]. When the woman finds the coin, the word 'hyoorrisko' can mean 'obtain', 'perceive' and 'see'. She calls together or convokes her friends 'sugkaleo' and relates 'lego' her story. When Jesus uses 'I say' later, he uses the same verb. The joy 'kharah' of the angels includes delight and cheerfulness. And they share their joy in the presence/sight of God when the sinner thinks differently 'metanoeho'.
Ten is a significant Bible number; reflecting the commandments, the clauses in the Lord's Prayer, the Old and New Testament tithes, redemption money [Exodus 30:12-16; Numbers 3:47 ], the plagues of Egypt, the ten kingdoms owned by the Antichrist, the ten righteous virgins and a number of other significant 'tens'.
The woman seems to live in a small and mean house which appears to have been dark and maybe without useful windows. The ten silver coins might represent the woman's dowry. But for a peasant woman, that lost coin was very valuable. Jewish homes then often didn't have many windows. So to search diligently, the woman needs to light a lamp.
John B Green notes that the woman described is a poor peasant, and the ten silver coins, corresponding to ten days wages, "likely represent the family savings." The coins may also have been the woman's dowry, worn as an ornament. Both theories may be true, and either one explains the urgency of the woman's search, and the extent of her joy when the missing coin is found.
Green suggests that the invitation to the "friends and neighbours" may reflect a celebratory meal, which recalls the meals Jesus is accused of sharing with "sinners." The woman's diligent activity in searching may symbolise either Jesus' own activity or that of God the Father. The rejoicing of the angels is understood to be rejoicing along with God.
These coins were apparently often worn with five pieces on each side of the head, fastened with little hooks. So losing one piece is plausible. The homes at that time usually had floors of either dirt or stones and a small piece of silver having fallen would be difficult to find.
Quotes from early Christian writers
The Parable suggests that a candle should be lit, signifying reason which throws light on hidden principles; then...within oneself, we should search for that lost coin; and by that coin the Parable hints at the image of our King...but hidden beneath the dirt; and by this we must understand the impurities of the flesh, which, being swept and purged away...the object of our search. Then the soul herself who finds this rejoices over ...the image of the mighty King revealed in all its brightness at last...[Gregory of Nyssa]
Similarly, the parable of the drachma....we equally interpret with reference to a heathen; albeit had been "lost" in a house, as it were in the church; "found" by aid of a "lamp," …by aid of God's word. ...this world is the one house of all; in which the heathen, who is found in darkness...[Tertullian]



More thoughts
This is a parable about women which immediately follows, and makes the same point as, a preceding parable about men. In the Greek, the "friends and neighbours" are female. At least one commentator has suggested that the woman is a representation of the Holy Spirit. The reasoning for this is that the shepherd is the Son, the father of the prodigal son represents our Heavenly Father, so a feminine Holy Spirit completes the Trinity.
The parable of the lost coin can also indicate the mission of the Son. Jesus came to be the Light of the World. Jesus provides the light for sinners to be found of God, just as the woman needed light to search carefully for her lost coin.



What might it mean for us?
We are certainly aware of the phenomenon of looking for coins which have fallen on the floor; especially if money is tight. Most of us have done that at one time or another. We might even switch on the light or use a torch to see more clearly or use a brush, especially if our coin had fallen somewhere dirty or dusty. However, once the lost coin is found, having a party or celebration with friends would probably be seen as extravagant and alien to most of us.
Christians are familiar with the seeking and rescuing done for us by God. Jesus' way back for us is the splendid, marvellous, most glorious act in the history of the universe. God seeks sinners and rejoices when they are found. So God, like the woman keeps diligently searching until he finds us. This is comforting; all we have to do is sit tight!
In conclusion, if we are the woman, then we are co-workers with Jesus in finding those people who are currently 'lost'. We seek him as He looks for us, then we take that encounter into a further search with and for others. And maybe, along the way, we will find Christ in one another. We are, by God's grace, His hands, voice and feet in the world!
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours. [Teresa of Avila]

Sources, books and websites used:-
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/parable-of-the-lost-coin-faq.htm
http://www.scripturessay.com/article.php?cat=&id=883
http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/15_1-10.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Lost_Coin
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/jesusandwomen/lostcoin.html
http://www.gotquestions.org/parable-lost-sheep-coin.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/Lost-Treasure
http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/3125/Parable-of-Lost-Coin.htm
http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/10.html
Strong's concordance [for the Greek] : 1 John 4: 19

The Royal Wedding

Disclaimer: As the contents of this blog may reveal, I am a Christian.  Baptised, confirmed, then "born again" at the age of 17. Regular church member, exploring possible Readership at the moment. However, living in Glastonbury and because of my Interfaith studies, I was struck by some potential Interfaith elements in the royal wedding.

William and Catherine got married at the end of a processional Druid 'way' [defined by trees] by a prominent Druid [qualification; the Archbishop of Canterbury certainly has links to the Druids] right before the feast of Beltane! Plus our [very] future King was in red. I suggest they were having a jolly good attempt at pulling in the Beltane energy [presumably to help bring about a prince/ess or two].

As the media have noted, Catherine was carrying a sprig of the Holy Thorn in her bouquet alongside what looked like lily of the valley and other white small flowers. In Glastonbury, we were told about this last Sunday [at least in my church!]. The tree is sacred to many faiths. Most people will be aware that the prominent one on Wearyall Hill was hacked last year and is just beginning to regrow. New life!

Glastonbury residents also know that there are several other examples of the tree scattered around the town [and currently in full bloom], so supplying a sprig or two was a reasonably easy task.

Only downer = the Reverend doing the prayers. His boring monotonous tone made me want to slap him! My son cheekily wondered what the F.A. charity shield was doing on the High Altar [GG].

The Lord's prayer - an essay

Apologies for the hiatus...

The Lord's Prayer; an essay

The prayer opens with, 'Our Father'; not 'my', nor 'yours', but 'ours'. Jesus puts himself on the same footing as us. He and we are equal in our standing before God. This is a radical development from the Old Testament, from a God 'hiding' behind the ceremonial curtain in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. A God who could only be approached directly once a year, by a High Priest elected by lot, on the Day of Atonement. Jesus is already drawing back that curtain, offering an intimate, familiar relationship, strongly implying that this is the true state of things. God isn't hidden; He is revealed as Father. Our Father.

Many women have been hurt by their fathers. Some have been abused. Some women have had men hurt them again and again and pound them down to an emotional nothing. Men are the enemy, and if God is Father, they cannot relate. Of course, 'Father' does not necessarily exclude 'Mother'. The original Aramaic spoken by Jesus has been preserved in the Syriac gospels. Jesus' phrase, 'Abwoun d'bishmaya' is capable of being translated several ways including, 'O Birther! Father- Mother of the Cosmos '¹ . Jesus also calls his Father, 'Abba' which is 'Daddy'. Our Father God is closer than our very breath!

'Who is in heaven'. As well as being very close, our Father God is also transcendent. When we go on to say "who art in heaven", we're saying Heaven, God's place, God's home is also our home.

"Our citizenship", says St Paul in one of his letters, "is in heaven"; that is, heaven is where we belong. Yet the full reality of heaven is beyond our limited human understanding. Where is heaven? Is it here? In bare Winter branches, in bird song, in the chimes from a church? Yet Jesus also says, 'The kingdom of heaven is within you '² . So even our limited humanity is carrying a piece of heaven? This is a cause for wonder, not boasting! We envision and prepare for the new creation, for our ultimate Home.

Next comes, 'Holy is your name' as a prayer that people may regard God's name (which is his Word, his presence) as holy, as something that inspires awe and reverence, and that we may not trivialize it by making God a tool for their purposes, to put others down or make ourselves feel safe. A church building is set aside for worship. Arches point upwards, encouraging thoughts of holiness. By invoking God's name, we make a sacred space in which to pray. Hopefully, we remember not to be trivial. The Father wants to seal us with his Name so that we will be united with him, like the Father and the Son united by the Holy Spirit. We are affirming God's holiness and reminding ourselves, that we may we treat His name as holy.

'Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven'. God's will, not ours. Whatever part we have to play, whether large or small in the world's eyes is according to the will of God. So, our task is to surrender. This will probably take a lifetime! Not just ourselves, but our hopes and fears; our loves and our desires. The angels and other heavenly beings do God's will instinctively, naturally, all the time. Everything in this world that is created and subject to time depends on another, uncreated world, where time does not exist and which is nothing less than the mystery of God. There the Father sees the universe unified in Christ and his will fulfilled and glorified by all. We struggle and fail, however our call is to also do God's will. 'Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty' ^3. One day, Jesus will return.

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.⁴

'Give us this day our daily bread'. Just for today; enough. God is similar to a business partner, everything we need to live our life fully is available through God's investment in us and his support.

Jesus said, 'If you believe, you shall receive' .

If you believe, you shall receive

There is no trouble or care that Jesus can't relieve

Oh, he is just the same today; all you gotta do is trust and pray

Believe, you just believe ⁵

But receiving springs out of gratitude. We give thanks for all the little things we have already got. The thanksgiving prayer at the Eucharist is a preparation for the consecration which follows. The one may help enable the other! Wild creatures find daily food. Humans may be nourished by nuts and fruits on trees, by regular food, as well as the weekly Eucharist. The beauty, noise and silence of the world may nourish us.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.⁶



'Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors'. This is possibly the hardest part for many people, especially if they have suffered mental or physical abuse. However, holding on to the anger, hurt, resentment or disappointment only hurts ourselves. We are all wounded or imperfect in one way or another, so we can easily lash out in our pain and distress. The shop assistant, the bank teller, the cabbie, the neighbour, the friend. All of them are doing the best they can most of the time. This calls for deep compassion, especially to ourselves! The whole world does not revolve around us either! After all, the prayer says, 'forgive us OUR debts'. We work on ourselves, with God's love and assistance. Jesus asks us not to judge others. The only person we can change [with God's help] is ourselves! We are flawed, but we can help each other along the way. Perhaps, 'Leave us serene, just as we also allowed others serenity'.

'Bring us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil'. Apart from any outside influences, there are plenty of things humans wittingly or unwittingly put in place as a barrier between them and God. The biggest one, arguably, is ego. Anything that puts us 'above' God, 'above' our fellow human beings, 'above' God's plan for us. How can God fill us if we are too full of ourselves? How can we possibly help anyone else if we think of ourselves first? Wars have been started by people overdosed on ego and fuelled by the same. Think of any recent dictator; not in judgement, because there but for the grace of God go you and I. If you can, be compassionate. That dictator is stuck, lost, running on ego. He – or she – is trapped by and in the very regime which tries to control others. Sadly this has also happened in the church too. Working on this will take a lifetime, but we can make a start, right now. Remember our loving Father is in charge and loves all of us equally. God can guide us along the Way. He also prunes us of anything diseased or dead, so that we can flourish afresh.

'For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours; now and forever. Amen'. We return to the creative visioning of God, of him being above all and in all. Our song of praise returns to its Source. This is God's kingdom, not ours, although we are part of it by grace. What He says, goes. What He bids, we seek to do. This is His power, not ours. We cannot depend on our own power. This is God's glory, not ours. For it is when He is glorified that the world makes sense, that we find the heart’s yearnings finally satisfied. We end with the 'amen'; the 'Yes, I agree', the 'and so it is'. This seals everything which has gone before. Ivy and other evergreens in the parks outside are always green. A natural sign of the greater eternal.

Green grow’th the holly
So doth the ivy
Though winter blasts blow ne’er so high
Green grow’th the holly

Gay are the flowers
Hedgerows and ploughlands
The days grow longer in the sun
Soft fall the showers
Full gold the harvest
Grain for thy labour
With God must work for daily bread
Else, man, thou starvest
Fast fall the shed leaves
Russet and yellow
But resting buds are smug and safe
Where swung the dead leaves
Green grow’th the holly
So doth the ivy
The God of life can never die
Hope! Saith the holly⁷

¹ [Syriac Pershitta Gospels/Prayers of the Cosmos by Neil Douglas-Klotz]

² [Luke 17: 20, 21]

³ [Anne Herbert, probably!]

⁴ [Teresa of Avila]

⁵ [Chorus, writer unknown]

⁶ [Johnson Oatman Jnr]

⁷ [Attr. King Henry VIII]

Other sources used:

The Source of Miracles by Kathleen McGowan

Christian Community Bible