Reflection
Romans 14: 7-12
Psalm 27
Luke 15: 1-10
Chapter 15 of Luke’s gospel is devoted to lost and found. Today’s gospel has Jesus telling the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coins. The parables express a God that the Pharisees were not prepared to accept. The Pharisees saw God as demanding and vengeful…follow the Mosaic law to the tee or suffer the consequences! And well, yes, God is the one who judges but Jesus presents God as merciful before judgment comes.
Must admit, the parable of the shepherd going after the one lost sheep and leaving the other sheep behind always seemed kind of odd to me. Who was watching the other 99? It would be a shame to lose one but, c’mon, there are 99 still left who need your care. And then I learned, God loves us just like the bold shepherd who will risk everything just for the sake of one – with abandonment to what we would consider common sense, He chases after us. Just as the coin that was lost has absolutely no value until someone possesses it, after all it really is just a hunk of metal, our lives are infinitely more precious when we give ourselves over to God.
God can abandon what we would consider common sense because, well, He is God. He forgives when we would say “I can never forgive you”. God exists beyond our understanding of sensibility and we are fortunate that He does. Get to Reconciliation this month and hear how much God loves you, even beyond the goofy stuff you have done.
Today’s call though, is not just for us to seek God’s mercy, but it is also for us to be bold in seeking out those who are lost! Know someone who is not going to Mass but should be so they can have that big ‘ol smile on their face that comes from engaging the Eucharist? Invite them back! Pushed someone out of your life who really should be special to you? Go get them back! It is a beautiful day…go smile at God today!