A WORD FOR TODAY, February 23, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, February 23, 2026
“Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.’ He told them this parable: ‘Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.” Luke 15:1-7, WEB
Margaret left her family to live with a rich young man, a man who refused to marry her. She always held out hope that he would take her as his wife; she even bore a child hoping she could convince him to make the child legitimate so that they could be a real family. One day he did not come home, and she searched for him on the streets until she found his broken body in a pit where he had been left to die by some attackers. Margaret was left with nothing. She had no legal right to his estate because she was not his wife. He child would never know the life he might have been given. She tried to go home, but her family rejected her and her son.
This story might sound like something out of today’s newspaper, a girl who was so desperate for the love of a man that she would do anything to keep him. When he died, she was left with nothing but a reputation as a sinner. Her sense of self was destroyed; she had no hope or peace in the life she had chosen. Though this sounds like a modern love story, Margaret was a girl who lived in the 13th century. When her father rejected her, Margaret was taken in by a group of Franciscan monks. They educated her son who later became a monk, and they gave Margaret the peace that comes from the love of Jesus Christ. She slowly realized that her life was not beyond redemption and she began to see herself through the eyes of Jesus: forgiven and beloved of God. She became a nurse and created a community of women who would continue her work with the poor. The town in which she lived gave her the funds to start a hospital. Her life that once seemed beyond salvation became a shining beacon of the love of Christ.
In Jesus’ world, especially to the ones who were considered righteous according to the Law of Moses, publicans and sinners were beyond redemption. Much like Margaret’s father, they willfully rejected and avoided them and treated them like outcasts. They had no place in the community of faith. This is why the Pharisees and scribes were so surprised that Jesus would eat with them. Such fellowship made a man of God unclean, something no real rabbi would even consider.
Jesus saw the publicans and sinners in a different light. He saw them as through God’s eyes, as one of His created and worthy of His time and mercy. As a matter of fact, Jesus spent more time with those who did not see themselves as beloved of God worthy of God’s loving touch. He ate with them, taught them about the kingdom of God, and gave them the opportunity to return to Him in repentance. He went looking for the ones who needed to be saved. When we hear stories like Margaret’s or listen as our Lord Jesus tells us about the radical love He brought to our fallen and broken world, we realize that He reaches far beyond our expectations to give mercy and grace to even the most awful sinners. If you are like Margaret and think you are beyond redemption, remember that Jesus Christ seeks those who need Him most. Open yourself to His love. If you are like her father and think someone else is beyond redemption, remember that Jesus loved you, a horrible sinner, and saved you from your sin. Would He do any less for your neighbor?
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276.