A lost King (played by Harry Lloyd) and a determined researcher (played by Sally Hawkins) star in The Lost King. Directed by Stephen Frears, the movie depicts the real-life discovery in 2012 of the bones of Richard III in a Leicester carpark.

While Richard III died in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth, the exact location where he was buried was a mystery. The winning King, Henry Tudor, hired publicists to popularise his Tudor dynasty as a new age.

Philippa Langley resides in the contemporary city of Edinburgh. Separated, living with two adolescent boys and ME, Langley attends Shakespeare’s Richard III. Disturbed by the play’s portrayal of Richard IIIas a physically deformed villain, Langley orders history books on Richard III. Outraged that he lacked a decent burial, she seeks his lost bones.

Langley battles prejudice, her medical struggles with ME, and her status as a researching amateur. She is sustained by a deep empathy and the passionate belief that people should not be judged by appearance or popular reputation.

Her search finds support in unexpected places. A local council worker champions her request for Leicester carpark digging rights. Overnight her phone lights up with 508 emails supporting her crowdsourcing campaign to fund the excavation.

A feature of The Lost King is the way the character of Richard III is brought to life. In a clever piece of cinematic craft, Richard III appearsasLangley’s imaginary friend. Langley sees Richard III on park benches, hears him encouraging her to find her voice and follows him on horseback to the unveiling of his found bones.

Watching the redeeming of Richard and Philippa Langley’s persistence brought to mind the Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10). Jesus explains his ministry in Luke 15 by telling three stories, of one lost sheep, ten lost coins and two headstrong sons. These stories define his ministry to those who question the reputation of a Son of Man who eats with sinners.

Loss can be material, including sheep, coins and bones. Loss can also be reputational, destroyed by one-sided story-telling and societal prejudice against those who appear different. Langley invites us to champion, as Jesus did, the reputations of all people, sinners and saints.

In honour of every woman who searches and any human who champions, I found myself turning “The Parable of the Lost Coin” into the “The Parable of the Lost King.”

Suppose a nation has many kings. The reputation of one is demeaned by time and distorted by prejudice. A woman searches. She reads widely and, with empathy, finds her voice amid academic scorn and patriarchal systems. When she finds the king that was lost, she calls out the prejudice and says to school children, “Rejoice in the value of people’s true potential.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God when the prejudiced repent and the truth of every person, whether king or commoner, is championed.

Rev Dr Steve Taylor is the author of "First Expressions" (2019) and writes widely in theology and popular culture, including regularly at www.emergentkiwi.org.nz.