Even if something is related theologically, it isn't necessarily related topically.

Without diving into hermeneutics or exegeting a text, we can easily say that Jesus does cast himself in the role of shepherd elsewhere in Scripture, but not as a woman who has lost a coin. I'm not eager to put words in His mouth as if He had.... perhaps that's why we don't have Found Coin Sunday as we do Good Shepherd Sunday. :~) Similarly, there's no verse like "Peter, find my purse" as there is "Peter, feed My sheep." Some of His parables clearly are metaphors for Himself, and some are stories cast in the imagery and concerns of the people He's teaching. (See "Form Criticism.")

Where money is used as imagery, there's the widow's mite and the parable of the talents, but these are not about a sinner's redemption; they're about a Christian response of grateful stewardship to blessings bestowed. They MIGHT belong all together in a song with a money-image refrain, depending how the refrain brings them together as does the refrain bring together the strands of meaning in "Done Found My Lost Sheep."

This does NOT mean that the Coin parable doesn't belong in the same lesson as the Sheep parable for Sunday School-- but it might mean that putting it into a song that already has a specific topic may not be the best place to put it, or it might mean that you could use it the same way Jesus did-- as a metaphor to extend the discussion with the children. You could elicit a discussion about how they would feel if they lost and then found a kitten or a dime.

I just think there is not already a song readily available (that I know of) about the coin, and that the sheep song is a poor fit with it.

It's important to be careful about these things, especially in the church setting. (St. Paul reminds us that just because a thing "can" be done does not mean it "should" be done.) Church music in the Episcopal Church is goverened by music canons requiring official approval of material. In our case, if the Church Publishing folks didn't publish it, the Rector has to approve it before I would think of using it.


BTW-- in the case of the use of the Sheep song as a counting song (replacing bottles of beer on the wall as described above)-- well that's fine on a schoolbus, but it ain't gospel. It's a secularization of the song completely. Jesus didn't teach about losing one sheep after another and having X number left-- He taught and modeled dealing with each as a precious individual. The counting song isn't a gospel song-- it takes Jesus as Shepeherd right out of the picture and replaces Him with oneself as the shepherd.

~Susan