Homily on Luke 15:1–10 : the Lost Sheep and Coin (6-11-25)

A well-known violinist once rented out his violins to young musicians. After a concert, one of the students returned all the instruments. The number was correct. Ten violins stood in a neat row. The student smiled and said, “Sir, all are here.” The violinist gently ran his fingers over each one, feeling the wood and the strings. After a while, he stopped and said quietly, “One is missing.”

The student looked puzzled. “But sir, you can count them. There are ten.” The violinist picked up one of them and shook his head. “This one is not mine,” he said softly. One of the students had replaced the violin with another, thinking the master would never notice. But he did. He could feel that something was not right. An elderly tutor who stood nearby watched the scene and said with a smile, “You see, love remembers what is missing.”

That line opens the heart of today’s Gospel. Jesus tells us about a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to look for the one that is lost, and about a woman who lights a lamp and searches her house until she finds her missing coin. To most people, ninety-nine out of a hundred would be enough. Nine coins out of ten would seem complete. But love does not count like that. The shepherd feels the emptiness of one missing sheep. The woman cannot rest while one coin is lost. Love is restless until it is whole.

I remember hearing a true story of a religious sister who taught in a small village school. About five hundred children studied there. One day she noticed that a poor boy had not come for several days. Others told her, “Sister, there are so many students. Why worry about one?” But she could not forget him. She walked along narrow paths and dusty roads until she reached his hut. The boy was sick and hungry. She helped him back to school and guided him with patience and care. Years later, that boy became a government officer. In his speech he said with tears, “I am here today because one sister remembered that I was missing.”

That is how God loves us. He is not content with ninety-nine. His heart aches for the one who is missing. Jesus says, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need repentance.” God’s joy is not complete until each of His children is found. He is like the shepherd who searches through the night and like the woman who lights her lamp and sweeps the floor. His love never gives up.

In our families, everything may look fine. There may be food, comfort, and success. Yet something feels missing. Perhaps peace, forgiveness, or affection. Love helps us see what others overlook. Love does not stop at what is visible. It feels when something is gone and moves the heart to restore it. Even in our religious life, everything may seem orderly, but perhaps joy is missing, or compassion, or closeness with one another. Only love can notice that. Only love can bring it back.

Saint John Paul II once said, “Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.” This is the truth of the Gospel today. Love is what gives life meaning. It is what helps us remember who is missing, what is missing, and where our heart should go. The violinist knew by touch. The sister knew by care. The shepherd knew by the ache in his heart.

Love always remembers what is missing.

Lord Jesus, help me to love deeply, so that I may find what is missing