Lost Sheep

The umbrella collects the parable of the lost sheep — a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find one stray, then carries it home and gathers his neighbors to rejoice. The Lukan account carries the parable in the umbrella's UPDV scope.

The hundred and the one

The opening question imagines the count short by one and the shepherd's response built into the count itself:

"What man of you⁺, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it?" (Lu 15:4).

The recovery is physical and personal — the shepherd carries the sheep on his shoulders:

"And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing." (Lu 15:5).

The recovery is followed by a public summons of friends and neighbors. The shepherd's invitation is named in the parable:

"And 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." (Lu 15:6).

The interpretation is given in the parable itself:

"I say to you⁺, that even so there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, [more] than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance." (Lu 15:7).