“‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” – Luke 15:9-10 

Written by Rev. Brandon Durán

The Bible encourages us to party.

Luke 15 ties together the parables of the lost things.  Jesus tells the story of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons.  The parable of the lost sons (or the gracious father), better known as the prodigal son, gets the most attention of the three.  It is better though to take them all in context because they are a package deal.  While the three stories vary in length, character, and detail, there is one particular element that unites them all; an exuberant and joyful party.

“And when the shepherd finds the sheep…he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me”

“And when the woman finds her lost coin, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me”

“Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”

I love the implication in the second story that hosting a party for her friends and neighbors would cost more than a single coin.  The joy of finding that which was lost is overwhelming.

The exuberant celebration at the return of that which is lost teaches us that reconciliation is miraculous.  Restoration and renewal are miracles to be celebrated.  Repentance, the act of turning around, acknowledging that we need to change course if we are going to walk in the way of Christ, this is a miracle.  And what do we do when we experience a miracle?  The scripture seems to teach us to throw a party.

If we could see more of the everyday miracles that take place all around us, would we be spending a lot more time in our life celebrating?