By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
The work of man’s salvation is likened to the woman who had ten drachmas and lost one of them, so she lit a lamp, swept the house, and searched diligently to find the lost drachma. And when she found it, she called her friends and neighbors together and said to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost.” And by saying this parable, Christ assures His listeners that “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:8-10).
The drachma signifies the soul of man and, more broadly, man, who was created by God to be in His image. The drachma was a silver coin and bore "royal marks," according to Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Man is "the royal image," as stated by Saint Theophylact, and "we were created in the royal image, that is to say, in the image of the God over all," according to Saint Cyril of Alexandria. However, when man distanced himself from God and fell into the place of impurities, Christ, who is the prototype of the creation of man, is likened to a woman who lit a lamp to find man.
Saint Gregory the Theologian writes that Christ Himself lit a lamp, that is, lit “his own flesh” and swept the house, that is, “purifying the world of sin” and sought the drachma, “the royal image entangled in passions.”
The incarnation of Christ is a light that has fallen upon the world, purifying the world and discovering the royal coin. In this, the Theotokos Mary played a crucial role; hence, Saint Modestos of Jerusalem states that "through her, the mortal drachma has been found," meaning that the lost human nature has been discovered and redeemed. She gave her flesh to Christ, which He transfigured, deified, and through her illuminated the entire world.
Source: From the book The Theometoric Feasts. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.