REJOICE WITH ME

PRAYER MOMENT

Thursday, 7 November 2013

REJOICE WITH ME

Pause.  Rememeber, you are in the presence of God.

Reading. And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders, and then, when he got home, call his friends and neighbours and say, “Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep that was lost.” (Luke 15:1-10)

Reflection. Luke’s gospel is full of expressions of joy. The angels told the shepherds in Bethlehem of “a joy to be shared by the whole people” (2:10) and the last words of the gospel have the apostles returning to Jerusalem after the Ascension “full of joy” (24:52). And here in the middle of the gospel are three stories of rejoicing “that what was lost is found.” The lost is, of course, the sinner. “We had all gone astray like sheep” (Isaiah 53:6). But now the great work of calling the sinner back to God has begun. “Repent (change your way of thinking) and believe” (Mark 1:15). With regard to sin and conversion sorrow and joy are hard to separate. Yes, there is a deep sorrow for offences committed, but the joy of being forgiven rushes in and sits together with the sorrow so that you don’t know which is which. 

Prayer. Lord Jesus, we know how you long to forgive and bring joy to the sinner. Teach us to go into ourselves and acknowledge that we are sinners and there we will find the joy of forgiveness and new life. Amen.