A sheep has gone astray and is found, and the finder is delighted that his search has not been in vain. The lost coin could do nothing about either its loss or its finding; the joy is solely and entirely the woman’s. The lost son, finally, was not merely ‘lost and found’; he had actually been ‘dead and was alive again’. So if we look at these parables, what is the kingdom of God? It is nothing other than God’s joy at finding again the beings he created who have been lost. And what is the ‘repentance’