IN this, XV chapter of Luke, are three parables. First; that of the lost sheep, Second: the lost piece of silver, Third: the prodigal son. It is the second short, but wonderfully instructive lesson of the Master that will occupy our thought for a few moments.
"Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it. And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost."
Two things are generally unnoticed in speaking of this lesson and the one preceding it. The anxiety of the shepherd, and the woman, arises from the sense of incompleteness,— of loss measured by ordinary standards of value. The loss of one sheep out of one hundred, should not cause a man much uneasiness.
