Suffering Indignity

Coin made for the CIS Field. XB stands for 
Christ is Risen! 

Scripture:

Luke 15:8   “Or what woman having ten silver coins,^a if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ ¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Observation:

There are subtle differences here in this story and that of the lost sheep. First of all, the sheep had wandered off on its own. The emphasis is on the condition of the lost sheep. In this case, the woman who was responsible for her own coins is the person who lost one. We discover the great sorrow of the one who suffers loss. However, she does everything she can to find the coin again. She lights a lamp and looks into every nook and cranny of her home to find this coin. 

What we fail to catch in the English is that when she finds her coin, she calls her female friends to come and rejoice with her. Luke is continually pointing us toward the festive banquet, and that is the scene he lays out for us here. She prepares a banquet for her closest friends to come and celebrate with her. This is the way our Lord will celebrate in heaven. 

The parable of the lost sheep would have been very relatable to the men. Interestingly, this parable, unique to Luke, is very female-centric. Women were important to God’s story, and this means that women needed to be included in the narrative. The perspective and needs of women are different from that of a man, and women are to be included in God’s redemptive action. 

The coin itself is fascinating for it would have had the image of the ruler stamped upon it. So, we find in this lost coin, the lost image. How was the image lost for this woman? Was it through sexual encounters, or even abuse? Remember, this coin didn’t wander off on its own like the sheep, this one was lost, or possibly even stolen. 

Imagine what society may have thought about a woman like this. She would have been shunned and rejected. By finding the lost image, she is restored and made whole. No wonder she wants to call all of her girlfriends and have a party. The women get it, for many have suffered similar indignities, and they “get it!” This is the good news, and even the angels of heaven join in the celebration. 

Application:

Sometimes the good news of Jesus can make us a little uncomfortable. Interestingly, when I read the commentaries on this section of Luke, it was lumped in with the lost sheep. There are all kinds of diagrams that show the similarities in the construct of the two, and most of the focus is on the lost sheep. This is the image we’ve seen in so many pictures and, for some of us, on flannel graph for much of our lives. That’s easier for us to understand, the image of someone wandering away. The lost coin takes us to imagery that may make us uncomfortable. 

Statistically speaking, at least 1/3 of all women have been sexually abused. If that’s true today, I can guarantee you that it was true in the first century, and may have even been a higher percentage. Whether you are a woman or a man, suffering indignity is the loss of God’s image in you. The result is pain, a poor self-image, and on-going emotional struggles. Life is lived with open, gaping woods that impact everything that you do in life. 

But imagine receiving the good news that all of this can all be healed! Now the view of the story changes. Suddenly it’s our heavenly Father who will search every part of our lives and bring healing so that the image can be entirely restored. We just have to let God do the work in our lives! If you have suffered indignity, there is the hope of entire restoration. All of heaven is waiting to rejoice in our entire restoration, if only we will allow the Father to come and do his searching work in our lives. 

Prayer:

Lord, do your work. Search me, and see if there is any piece of me that needs your entire restoration. I want to be all in for you. Amen.