Reason for Hope
Rev Dr Durrell Watkins
Lent 5 (2016)

Today’s gospel lesson is one of my favorite parables. Parables are fictional stories that are meant to communicate deep, powerful truths, and this parable has a truth to share that everyone needs to know.

The woman in the story loses a coin. She can’t stand the thought of losing it. Indeed, she refuses to accept that it can be lost.

My grandmother used to have a ring that meant a lot to her. She actually had prettier jewelry, even more expensive jewelry, but this ring was very important to her. It had several small stones, each a birthstone of a family member. There was a tiny emerald chip, a tiny ruby, topaz, and so on. That ring represented her family and her love for them.

The woman in the gospel story loses a coin, but it isn’t like a dime from your pocket. It clearly has sentimental value. She cannot stand to think of something happening to this coin. She had ten, probably connected on a necklace or a headpiece. Each coin probably represented something…children, anniversaries, maybe it was simply an engagement present that represented the love she shared with her spouse. In any case, the piece of jewelry must be whole, complete. It could not be fractured, damaged, or any part of it lost. Sure it was just a thing, but it represented something that was priceless. It symbolized love.

When she notices that a coin has fallen off she tears the house apart looking for it. She will not give up the hope of finding it. And when she does find it, she rejoices. She throws a party. And the story says that every time someone is found who had felt lost or disconnected, the heavens rejoice as well.

Now, the coin was never lost. It was always in the house. Still, there was the appearance of separation for a time, and the woman would not rest until that sense of separation was healed.

The woman, obviously, is God. The story tells us that we may feel disconnected from the family of God, from God’s presence or God’s plan, but the separation is just a perception and it can be corrected. We are always in the house of divine Love, and God will not entertain the notion of our being lost or separated. God will never give up on us, and when we finally remember who we are, the heavens rejoice – not because we were lost, but because we thought we were, and when we remembered the truth, that we are forever part and parcel of God, as Emerson said, then God is pleased that we have rediscovered what God has always known…that we are forever loved and ultimately safe.

The story shows that we cannot be separated from divine love. God will not rest as long as we doubt our sacred value. God will not relax as long as we feel disconnected from our Source. And, the story shows us how to deal with crises in our lives.

1. Don’t give up hope.
2. Don’t stop looking for a solution.
3. Rejoice at every bit of good news the search yields.
4. Share your good fortune!

We always have reason for hope, because we are forever loved, forever connected to our Source, and we will never and can never be abandoned by the benevolent power we call God. As long as we are secure in the love that God is, we always have reason for hope, and as long as we have hope, we will continue moving in the direction of our good. God doesn’t give up on us, so we need never give up on ourselves. And this is the good news. Amen.

© Durrell Watkins 2016

God doesn’t give up on me.
Divine Love will never let me go.
I won’t give up on myself.
Amen.