NEW TESTAMENT: 1 Timothy 1: 12 - 17 (all)

1Tim 1:12 (NRSV) I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the foremost. 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

h/t WorkingPreacher
In this case, the theological pivot for these verses concerns God's mercy. The letter — in highlighting God's characteristic of gratuitous mercy — explains that Paul received mercy "because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief." Now, of what could Paul have been ignorant? He knew the God of Israel, the Torah, and the Prophets. He even knew enough about Jesus to oppose his cause. Paul did not know what he was doing in the same way that Jesus' crucifiers did not know what they were doing: they did not grasp fully what was going on around them. They saw (to adopt a Pauline figure) in a glass darkly, but they reached incorrect conclusions about what they perceived there.

GOSPEL: Luke 15: 1 - 10 (RCL)
Luke 15: 1 - 10 (11 - 32) (Roman Catholic)

Luke 15:1 (NRSV) Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Phar'isees 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.
8 "Or what woman having ten silver coins, 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."

h/t montreal anglican


Jesus is keeping company with “tax collectors and sinners”, people avoided and despised by apparently godly people like “the Pharisees and the scribes” (v. 2). Their observation (v. 2) begs the question: are any beyond God’s mercy? Tax collectors were known for their unethical behaviour. The Roman authorities contracted out collection of taxes; how a tax collector got the money was up to him. Usury, fraud and excessive profits were common. Tax collectors worked for tax farmers, who were usually foreigners. As such, they were ritually unclean.
Now Jesus defends associating with these people, using parables. Our reading includes two: vv. 3-7 and 8-10. Jesus asks if you had many and lost one, wouldn’t you search until you found it? expecting the answer of course I would! Vv. 6 and 10 explain the parables: God is shepherd/housewife; the lost sheep/coin are people who repent, who turn to God. God willingly accepts them; in fact, he rejoices, as does the community (“friends and neighbours”, vv. 6, 9)! Neither the sheep nor the coin can find their owner; God cares about those unable to find him; he seeks them. But, as so often in a parable, there are twists to them which helps people remember them: what shepherd would leave his flock “in the wilderness” (v. 4)? The Pharisees would find God symbolized by a woman as outrageous, and first-century shepherds were considered lawless and dishonest. (The coin, v. 8 was a drachmas, a day’s wage.) Would a shepherd really care about one sheep out of 100? God is like that.
Verse 4: Comments: first-century shepherds were considered lawless and dishonest: unlike Old Testament shepherds.
Verse 5: “rejoices”: The theme of joy suffuses this chapter: see also vv. 7, 9, 10, 23, 29, 32. Joy in this chapter has four emphases:
• The motifs of universality, community and soteriology (systematic interpretation of Christ’s saving work for humans and the world) are inextricably commingled.
• Conversion is a prerequisite for finding joy.
• Happiness consists in a willingness to share in God’s own joy in dispensing salvation.
• The call to participate in God’s love and joy is issued through Jesus.
Verse 8: “coins”: The Hebrew word (and perhaps the Aramaic) for coins, zuzim, can also mean those who have moved away, departed. Perhaps Jesus uses a play on words; perhaps the lost coin is representative of those who have lost faith but can still be reached.
Verse 8: “light a lamp”: A Palestinian house had a door and no windows. The woman would “sweep the house” hoping to hear a tinkle. [NJBC]
Verses 11-32: A third parable on God’s joy at recovery of the lost, the parable of the Prodigal Son. In this case, the father’s rejoicing at the return of his errant son has to be explained to the son who followed tradition (as the religious establishment did) and stayed at home. [CAB]