Have you heard the Parable of the Lost Coin? It’s a short, but powerful parable Jesus tells in Luke 15:8-9.
In this parable, a woman with ten silver coins loses one and sweeps her entire house to find that precious lost coin. When she finally discovers it, she calls her friends and neighbors to celebrate.
Can you believe this little parable has a big message for us about God’s joy over each lost soul that’s saved? St. Hildegard von Bingen – a 12th-century abbess, mystic, and Doctor of the Church – offers a pious interpretation on this parable.
In her visionary work Scivias, St. Hildegard interprets every detail of the story symbolically. For example, the number ten isn’t random; it represents the ten orders in heaven: the nine choirs of angels plus the one order of human souls. In other words, humanity is meant to complete heaven’s community alongside the angels!
According to Hildegard, the woman in the parable symbolizes God searching for His lost creation. The lost coin represents humanity – lost and far from its heavenly home – and the lamp the woman lights is Christ, the Light of the World, shining the way for our return. Even the act of sweeping the house signifies the work of redemption, as God cleans up and tirelessly seeks every soul that has gone astray. And what about those friends and neighbors who come over to rejoice? Hildegard gives them a special meaning too. She sees the friends as the works of justice and the neighbors as the spiritual virtues in heaven.
Hildegard was so inspired by this parable that she even wove it into her famous morality play, Ordo Virtutum. In that play, the character Humility rallies the Virtues by quoting Jesus’ words, urging them to help “find the lost drachma,” the lost coin or soul. She vividly illustrates how music and virtue fill heaven when humanity – the lost coin – is restored to its rightful place among the angels.
St. Hildegard’s explanation of the Lost Coin reminds us that every soul matters infinitely to God. God is like that determined woman, never giving up on anyone who is lost. When we turn back to Him, all of heaven’s virtues and saints rejoice! Hildegard’s vision encourages us to cooperate with God’s mission by living virtuous lives and helping others find their way back to Him.
St. Hildegard, pray for us!
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Photo credit: Phillip Medhurst via Wikimedia Commons
