Reading from the Hebrew Bible 1 Kings 17:8-16

King Ahab was a wicked king, and under his reign the land of Israel dried up; there was no water anywhere. God spoke to the prophet Elijah: “Leave Israel and go to the town of Zarephath: there is a widow there who will feed you.” So he went, and as soon as he arrived, he met a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.” She got it for him, and as she approached, he said, “Bring me a piece of flatbread.” But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of ground flour, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering just a few sticks, so that I may bake flatbread for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and then starve.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do what you planned to do, but first make me a piece, and then after make something for yourself and your son. For thus says my Lord, the God of Israel: The jar of flour will not run empty and the jug of oil will not fail, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.” She went and did as Elijah said, and it all was true: she and he and her son ate for many days. The jar of flour did not run empty and the jug of oil did not fail, according to the word of the Lord that was spoken by Elijah.

The Good News Luke 15:1-10

L: Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the religious authorities were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 

So Jesus told them this parable: “What man with a hundred sheep, who lost one, would not leave the other ninety-nine in the desert and go searching for the lost one, until he found it? And when he finds it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them,

All: ‘Rejoice with me! I found my lost sheep.’

L: Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. And what woman with ten silver coins, who lost one, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying,

All: ‘Rejoice with me! I found my lost coin.’

L: Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

L: This is the gospel, the good news of God’s grace.