The topic of today’s gospel reading is the very familiar parable of the prodigal son. It is found in Luke 15 and immediately follows the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. In the first few verses of this chapter, Luke gave us the context. The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ audience were grumbling. “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

To paraphrase Jesus’ response, “Well, of course, I welcome and associate with sinners. They are the ones lost to God. When a woman with ten silver coins misplaces a coin, will she not search for it until she finds it? And when she finds it will she not call all the neighbors and tell them how excited she is? In that same way, there is great joy among the angels when one sinner repents.

“Or when one not-too-bright sheep wanders off w…