Fifth Week of Lent – Saturday
April 13, 2019
From Presbyterian Outlook Devotions, Jill Duffield, Editor
Luke 15:1-7
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." 3 So he told them this parable: 4 "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
We end the week where we began: with the Pharisees complaining about Jesus’ propensity to eat with sinners. As you have considered being fed by Jesus and eating with him, has your sense of who is around the table with you expanded? Who is still missing and needs to be invited? Who is still lost and needs to be sought out and found?
Lord Jesus, you notice when we are missing from around your table. You miss us. You leave the other 99 in order to come find us. We are awed by your love for us. We rest in your care, rejoice in your attention and abide in your kindness. We give thanks that you have found us and will never abandon us. Amen.
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