Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He spoke this parable to them, saying: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:1–10)

Let us rejoice, therefore, that this sheep, which was lost in Adam, is raised up in Christ. The shoulders of Christ are the arms of the Cross: it is there that I deposited my sins, it is on the noble neck of this gallows that I rested. This ewe is unique in gender, not specifically; for “all of us are one body,” but many members, and that is why it is written, “You are the body of Christ, and members of his members." For “the Son of man came to save what had perished,” that is to say, all, since “as all die in Adam, so in Christ all receive the life.” He is therefore a rich shepherd, since all of us are one hundredth of His share.

He possesses the innumerable herds of angels, the archangels, the dominions, the powers, the thrones, and others, which He has left on the heights. And since they are reasonable, it is not without motive that they rejoice at the redemption of men. Moreover, it is still a stimulant to be good, to know that your conversion is pleasant to the troops of angels, each of whom must seek patronage or fear disgrace. Be you also joy for the angels; they are looking forward to your return.

Ambrose, Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 7.209