A reading from the gospel according to Luke 15:3-7
3 Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes:
4 “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?
5 And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
6 and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbours and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
7 I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”
Gospel Reflection
Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:14). He knows His sheep and He loves them all. Like the shepherd in the gospel above, He is willing to stake the lives of the 99 sheep left behind in order to seek the lost one. That is how compassionate He is. Everyone is important and no one, even the sinner, can be out of place in the sheep fold of Jesus.
We are the sheep of the Good Shepherd. Because of our hardheadedness, we always wander away from Him. Yet Jesus does not stop looking for us and calling us to return to Him. Do we hear His voice? Let us listen to Him in our heart.
Verse 7 tells us about great rejoicing in heaven for one sinner who repents. This is the very moment for us to repent of our sins. It’s never too late to experience the loving embrace of Jesus once we turn to Him to ask for forgiveness of our sins of commission and omission.
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How do we value ourselves and others? Have we ever realized how much important we are that the King would come and die for us? The gospel passage tells us that Jesus gives utmost value to the life of each one of us. Definitely, He does not want anyone of us to get lost.
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Just as Jesus is busy looking for lost sheep, why can’t we help Him? We are shepherds of each other too. Perhaps we know of someone who is struggling to find His way back to the fold. Jesus could also be calling us to go and search for this lost sheep.