Consider this/ Einfach zum Nachdenken

A friend of mine has a big jar standing on his desk filled almost to the top with pennies. Whenever he comes home he empties his pockets of all his coppers and drops them into this jar. These little things are worthless and a nuisance, so he can’t wait to get rid of them. At the end of the year he goes to the bank and cashes them in: this never yields much, just enough for a kebab and a beer. But at least in great numbers these coins are worth something. Airlines have picked up on this and now provide envelopes through which you can dispose of “unwanted change” at the end of a trip; they collect it and pass it on to a charity. Often they don’t just get coppers, but whole pounds, Euros and even bills.

Unwanted change- what a Western concept, born of affluence and over-abundance! My African friends would never understand, for where money is scarce, ever penny helps. Even I learned a saying in German when I grew up: “He who does not honour the penny is not worthy of the pound”. Traditional societies and frugal people would never dispose of small coins carelessly, for they know that every little bit helps.

The Bible describes such a person: a woman (see Gospel of Luke chapter 15 verses 8 and 9) has lost a coin. It is not a copper she has lost, but a silver piece. It is one of ten pieces she possesses. Some commentators think in fact that this coin is part of a necklace which she received as a dowry, a piece of jewellery made of silver coins, to be kept for a “rainy day”, a reserve for difficult times. But now she has lost one of them, and she is seriously upset. She turns the whole house upside down in order to find it. And when she finally recovers the silver piece, she even throws a party.

Recently I was away on a weekend trip, and the morning of my departure I realized I could not find my sunglasses. This upset me: the glasses are prescription lenses and cost a lot of money. They were a gift from a friend, and there was no way I would be able to replace them. And they look cool, at least so I think! So I began to scour the whole room where I was staying, my car, my luggage, everything, just to find them. Being a Catholic I even prayed to St. Anthony- but nothing seemed to help. So I eventually gave up the search and resigned myself to the fact that I would have to be un-cool for the rest of my life. As I was leaving the building I passed by a fireplace, and there on the mantelpiece were my glasses. My heart leapt and I raced to get them. I felt too sheepish to tell all my friends, but in my heart I was throwing a party.

What is the point of this Biblical story? That God gets anxious when he loses a coin? That he misplaces his glasses like an old man? That he is not as frugal as my African friends? The story in Luke follows that of a lost sheep which the shepherd goes looking for, while leaving the ninety-nine behind; it precedes the famous story of the prodigal son. All three try to make the same point. God treats people like a treasured possession, not like dispensable items. So when one of us is lost, he goes through great lengths to go looking for us. In fact he never abandons the search like I did, he never resigns himself to having to do without; he searches until he finds. And when he finds the one who is lost, he throws a party. In God’s eyes, we are not unwanted change, cluttering his pockets. We are not something to be stored up in a jar, something which is only valuable in great quantities. Each of us is precious, and when we are not there something is missing. This is why he goes through great pains to recover us, even sacrificing his Son for it.


Imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: "Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!'