|  I recently lost my check book. I was terrified. I imagined my identity stolen and my finances in ruins. I retraced my steps all over town looking for the check book. I took time off work to look for it. I searched my house, my car, my briefcase - everywhere. Finally, on about the third search of my car I found the check book under some other papers. I was thrilled.
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells us stories about people who search for something they've lost, and how happy they are when they find the lost item. A shepherd is overjoyed at finding a lost sheep. A woman is delighted when she finds a lost coin. A father throws a party of epic proportions when his lost son returns home.
Jesus' point: "There will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
How hard we look for something, and how thrilled we are to find it, are both directly proportional to how important the item is to us. I searched desperately for my checkbook because it is vital to my financial stability. So it is with the shepherd and his sheep, and a woman and her coin. But a father and his son are a different matter. The search and the joy are not about finding something of economic value. They are about the restoration of a loving relationship.
We are what is most important to God. Though we may stray, there is still a party waiting for us when we return to God.
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Jesus' point, of course, is that God loves us and is always searching for us, rejoicing when we turn and embrace God's presence. The angels can't contain their joy when we turn towards God and God's life-giving love.
This is good news for those of us who feel lost much of the time. The message of today's reading is that God loves us fiercely, and will never give up looking for each one of us. We are what is most important to God. While humans are concerned about sheep and coins, God is concerned about human lives. Though we may stray, there is still a party waiting for us when we return to God. 
In today's second reading, the Apostle Paul encourages his readers to persevere in their faith in the face of hardship. Paul knows that God's love is inexhaustible from personal experience. "I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant," Paul writes, "but I have been mercifully treated…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."
God did not give up on Paul. God will not give up on any of us. We may not know it but God is at work now, seeking us, trying to guide us back to the celebration of mercy and compassion.
Christ came to seek sinners. The heavens cry with joy each time a lost soul is reunited with God. God is with us all the time, presenting us with opportunities to be found. We only need open ourselves to this relentless love. Bill Peatman writes from Napa.
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