Once upon a time, a wealthy man had two servants.  One day, the man called for his servants and said to them, “Tomorrow morning, I plan on freeing both of you from your status as servants.  To commemorate your freedom and as a last token for me, I would like each of you to weave a burlap sac tonight before you embark on your newfound life of freedom.  As you both know, the proper way to weave a sac is to weave tight, sturdy stitches so that the sac can withstand heavy weights.” 

​Upon hearing their master speak of freedom, the two servants were overfilled with joy and gratitude.  Although they had worked hard weaving ropes and sacs for their master all this time, both servants vowed to give their best effort at this last task for their master before they left.  Both servants initially planned on working throughout the entire night until dawn.  They felt that they needed to repay for some of their master’s kindness.

 But one of the servants began having other thoughts towards his master.  He complained, “If he’s going to free us anyway, what is the point of working us until the last possible minute?  Why not just let us go?”  Disgruntled and full of complaint, this servant thought, “No matter, I’ll be gone by tomorrow.  What’s the point in weaving a sac?”  And he went to sleep without doing as he was told.

​The next morning, the wealthy man called for his two servants again.  “As I have promised yesterday, both of you are free to go.  Go out into the world and live as you wish.  You are no longer my servants.”  Then he took his two freed servants to the storage room that held his coffers, and asked both of his servants to bring him the sacs that they wove the previous night.  Opening the door to one of his coffers, the master said, “You have worked hard for me over the years.  As a sign of my gratitude for years of your service, I would like to compensate you.  I hope you wove some big, sturdy sacs last night.  Take as much money as your sacs can hold before you go.”

 I hope that each one of us can work diligently throughout the course of this year, with nary a complaint.  God gives love and blessings to those who do not complain and give their best at the smallest, seemingly insignificant tasks.  He gives great blessings to those who try their best to look for that one lost sheep.

 The scripture that we read today, similar to last week’s scripture, talks of the diligence of a woman who looks for the one lost coin.  Today’s scripture paints a picture of a woman who literally tears her house apart searching every corner, every shelf, every conceivable place where the coin might be in order to find a coin that most people would deem as a small sum of money.  Just like the ‘Parable of Lost Sheep,’ this ‘Parable of the Lost Coin’ stresses the joy of finding something that is lost.  It is speaking of God’s joy and happiness when the one sinner, lost in secular darkness, returns to God.

 Today’s main character is a woman.  During those days in the Near and Middle East, women were considered much inferior to men, whom as a group were often sequestered from the mainstream society.  In last week’s parable, a shepherd, a man of truly low social status, was the central figure.  Both the woman and the shepherd in the parables of Luke 15 were lowly, despicable beings in the eyes of the Pharisees and the scribes, the audience of the parables.  Through these seemingly low and insignificant beings, however, Jesus is sending the message of God’s love, the love of God who considers every lost soul as precious and important.  Through these parables we can gain the glimpse of perhaps an early movement for women’s equality from the fact that unlike the first parable, where the shepherd, a man, portrays God, the central character in the parable of lost coin is a woman that a woman is portraying God.  (It is often said that Luke is ‘women’s gospel.’)  Among the parables of Christ such as the ‘Parable of a Widow and a Unjust Magistrate’ women sometimes appear as central figures; yet, in no other parables do women delineate God except in this ‘Parable of Lost Coin.’

 When we delve into today’s scripture, we learn that this woman had ten silver coins.  One silver coin equated to about a day’s wage for a laborer.  Hence, ten silver coins are fairly small sum of money, enough to sustain a person for perhaps a couple of weeks.  Some scholars interpret these ten silver coins as a necklace or a headdress that women of the Middle East wore during their weddings.  As a form of dowry, women brought these necklaces and headdresses as they entered into a marriage, and they were indeed considered very precious.  So precious, in fact, that some women wore these necklaces and headdresses to bed.  For married women, these items were indeed precious possessions. 

 In this light, we can see that ten silver coins, for women those days, were indeed a vast wealth for the women were often not allowed to hold many possessions or assets.  For this reason, the woman in today’s scripture assiduously searches for the one lost coin, even though she still had nine coins in her possession.  For others, one silver coin was fairly insignificant; yet, for this woman, it was a valuable possession. 

 The key point of today’s scripture is the method and the manner in which this woman searches for the coin.  How was this woman able to find the lost coin in her house?  The reason why we must ask this question is to learn from this woman the proper way in which to seek and find the lost souls among us.

 First, we must light the lamp.  In verse 8 of today’s scripture, it states that the woman “lights a lamp.”  She tried to find the lost coin by shedding light on the floor.  To find the lost coin, light is needed.  She could have easily found the coin if the coin was in plain view.  Yet, since the coin was tucked away in a corner somewhere, she could not see the coin.  The coin could have rolled under the dresser, hidden under the cupboard, or tucked away in a pocket on one of her garments; regardless, the coin was shrouded in a veil of darkness, not easily seen through naked eye.  Bright light is needed to find the coin that is hidden by darkness.  When we lose a button or a coin, like in the scripture, we can easily find the lost item by shining light underneath cupboards or dressers.

 It is true.  We need light in order to find the lost soul, the one that does not yet know the grace and love of God, immersed in the depths of darkness.  Then who serves as this light?  Jesus has stated that He is the light of this world.  In John 8, verse 12, He states, “I am the light of this world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”  In John 9, verse 5, he states “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  If we are to find the lost, wandering soul from the midst of darkness, then we must shine Jesus, the light of the world, into that darkness.  Wherever Jesus shines, the souls that were hidden in the midst of darkness and sins will be rescued and saved.

 Then we must become the light.  We must reflect the light from Jesus onto those souls caught in the darkness to lead them to the path of salvation and everlasting life.  What did Jesus say in Matthew 5, verses 14 through 16?  “You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  We must shine our light brightly on those who are in darkness.  Only then will those lost, hidden souls return to our Lord.

Second, we must hear the sound.  In verse 8 of today’s scripture, it states that the woman “sweeps the house.”  The woman swept every corner of her house with a broom made of palm tree, a common household tool of the day.  Why did she sweep her house?  She tried to get the coin to make a sound against the stone floor of her house by sweeping the floor.  To hear the melodious sound of the coin rolling around on the floor, the woman moved her furniture and swept the entire floor.

 To find the one lost soul, we must hear their cries for help.  We must have the ear to hear the moans and cries of those souls longing for help and salvation.  We cannot save a soul if we cannot hear them.  Too many souls are diseased within, while keeping up a tidy outer appearance.  They are wandering like nomads in the midst of dirty, trashy hedonism and death while leading lives without a clear goal or aim.  We need to sweep those dust and trash away from the pallets of their souls.  We need to help them emit the sounds of their souls.  And once we hear their cries for help, we need to answer immediately to save them.  Only those who can hear the sounds of the lost souls can help and save those souls.

The Bible states in Psalms 27, verse 7.  “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!  Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.”  God always and unfailingly answers those cries for help.  Likewise, we must dutifully answer those cries for help that emit from souls around us.  We need to rescue them. 

Third, we must diligently search until the end.  What does verse 8 of today’s scripture state?  “Does she not…seek diligently until she finds it?”  As today’s scripture concludes, this woman diligently seeks for the lost coin until she finds it.  She tenaciously sought for the lost coin, not giving up erstwhile. 

We must be tenacious if we are to save a soul.  We must have tenacity and fortitude, as well as perseverance.  We must learn from the diligent woman who, in her search for a mere coin, moves all her furniture and household goods, lights a lamp, sweeps the floor, and perseveres to the end.  We must never give up when we are trying to save a soul; if things don’t go our way after we pray and try to evangelize the lost soul, we must try harder. 

 If we give up, we can never hope to save a soul.  The characters of these parables in the Bible gave their best effort to the end in searching for the lost sheep and the lost coin.  Do not despair during the coming year when things don’t progress as we had planned; rather, pray and give your best effort to the end.  After we give our all, God will take care of the rest.  The task that lies ahead of us is the task of assiduously and tirelessly saving a soul.

 There lived a 26-year old woman in Atlanta, Georgia some time ago.  She had to quit her job as a reporter for a newspaper after she injured her leg.  Having nothing better to do at home, she started writing novels during her idle time.  What started out as a hobby eventually turned into an obsession, resulting in a 1,037-page novel after ten years’ of hard work.  With the bulky original copy under her arm, she visited a number of publishers to sell her novel.  But no publisher paid much attention to this woman, a virtual unknown in the literary community at the time.  She was rebuffed at every publisher she visited.

 After 7 years of time had passed by, the original copy of the woman’s novel became tattered and aged.  One day, in a regional newspaper of Atlanta, a short article appeared that mentioned a visit by the president of MacMillan Publishers, the largest publishing company in New York, to Atlanta.  The article mentioned that after a brief visit, the president of MacMillan Publishers was scheduled to return to New York by train.  After reading this article, this woman virtually ran to the train station.  As she arrived at the train station, the president of MacMillan Publishers was about to board his train to New York.  Desperate, the woman yelled out for the president.  “Sir, this is a novel that I wrote.  Please, take a look at it!”

 The reluctant president of the publishing company took the manuscript and boarded his train.  But after placing the heavy bundle of paper on a shelf, he did not look at it.  While he sat in the train, the woman quickly exited the train station and headed to a post office to send a telegram.  Not long after, the train conductor handed a message to the president of the publishing company.  The content of the message was quite simple.  “Please, read it once!”  But the stoic and dispassionate man only glanced at the bundle of paper, and paid no further interest or attention to it.  Few minutes later, a similar telegram arrived again.  The president of MacMillan Publishers still refused to take a look at the manuscript of the novel.  Then a third message arrived.  The president finally ceded, thinking ‘That is one tenacious woman!’  He took the manuscript from the shelf and began reading it. 

​Once he started reading, he was pulled deeper and deeper into the novel; after the train arrived at the destination, while other passengers were preparing to exit the train, the president of MacMillan Publishers was still in his seat, deeply engrossed in the novel. 

 Do you know what the name of the novel was?  It was Gone With the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949).  This novel was the best seller of the 20^th century, translated into 40 different languages and sold over 30 million copies worldwide.  The movie adaptation of the novel, starring Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable, went on to claim 10 Oscars in 1939 and remains one of the classic movies of all time.

  Let’s become the victors to the end, never giving up until our goals are attained.  Let’s give our best efforts towards saving that one soul this year.  Having faith in God that He will be with us, let’s give our all towards saving another soul!

 Verse 10 of today’s scripture sums up today’s sermon.  “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Like the shepherd who found his lost sheep, the woman who found her lost coin calls for her neighbors and friends to rejoice.  The joy of discovery is enough to melt away the toil, the effort expended to find the lost item.

  Believe in the fact that there is no comparable joy the joy in Heaven, the joy of spirit in finding the lost souls of this world.  I pray in the name of our Lord that this year, each one of us discovers the everlasting joy of finding a lost soul and leading it to eternal salvation. 

​Amen!