Church of the
Annunciation

When parents do not approve of an acquaintance that a son or daughter is hanging around with they may refer to him or her as “a bad apple”-- implying a bad apple in the barrel can spoil the lot. Jesus was hanging around a lot of bad apples -- public sinners -- and the Pharisees and scribes were complaining about his bad company. Jesus tells three parables (shepherd & a lost sheep; lady & a lost coin; and loving father & two sons, the younger wayward, the older embittered) in order to explain his own purpose associating with sinners and to say something about the heart of God. God’s heart is full of joy (like the shepherd finding a stray sheep, like the woman discovering a missing coin and like the loving father going out to his sons) when a repentant sinner turns back/finds his or her way to him. God is waiting for us, even searching for us, that we may be united in divine love and mercy. The surprise for us as we enter into the telling of the three parables is not only abundant joy in the heart of God for a repentant sinner but our realization that at a given moment I am the lost sheep, I am the lost coin, I am the wayward or embittered son or daughter!  I am the bad apple! We fail to appreciate that when we are lost we are still the apple in God’s eyes.