At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: 12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills to look for the one that is lost?

 

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: 12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills to look for the one that is lost? 13 Truly, I say to you, if he finds it, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost."

—Word of Salvation.

Reflection

1. "What do you think?" The way Jesus teaches is very different from what we are accustomed to hearing from those who call themselves "teachers and doctors"; He does not force others to think HIS way; on the contrary, His way of teaching leads the listener to reflect, allowing others to have the possibility of creating, from their own thoughts, a welcoming environment for those essential words, spoken in a fascinating way. The one who listens is the one who feels obliged to fight within himself, in order to attain that which has touched him in an extraordinary way.

2. Jesus reveals God's immense salvific interest. Jesus' coming into the world is, concretely, the answer to today's text. Through the Son, the Father came to seek out his creation, came to tell them how great his love is and that he will never give up on his desire to save them, configuring the Son in the Holy Spirit. As in the parable of the prodigal son, here the text demonstrates the merciful initiative of salvation, that God cares about his own and wants them with him. The disciple knows that he is a "miserable insect", a nothing, but infinitely loved and protected by God. The text is clear when it says that the joy of having found the lost sheep is greater than that of having saved the ninety-nine. God truly looks at any person in any part of the world, rich or poor, saintly or sinful, ugly or beautiful, healthy or sick, and wants only one thing: that each person let themselves be found by Him.

3. At first, the lost sheep thinks it is free, can do anything, eat in any pasture, drink from any spring, sunbathe whenever it wants, bathe whenever it wants, but night comes, and then, in a second time, it begins to feel alone, without the shepherd to caress its forehead, look at a wound in its hoof, call its name and stay there, on guard, protecting it. Loneliness takes over its life, it is not at home, others want to use it, no one sees it as a sheep of the flock, but as a stranger in that environment; it is not welcomed, embraced, but treated almost as a cancer. There, it is at the mercy of everyone, its value thrown to the ground, its dignity hidden, its future in the hands of chance or tyrants.

4. This is how we find men and women who flee from their saving home, who try to live as they think in any way, who think they are masters of themselves, who choose a life without God. Even in this condition, God certainly comes to meet each one, not as an executioner, not as a dictator, disrespecting the freedom that each one has, but in the way of Jesus Christ, fascinating in words, obedient in action, just in objective, servant in mission, friend of humanity according to his life in history and merciful in attitude. As the Good Shepherd, in addition to caring for a single sheep that gets lost, he solidifies the ninety-nine in the conviction that when He dedicates Himself to one, He cares for all. Well, this shepherd is the Word made flesh, for whom the Father does not want to lose even one of His little ones, that is, of all those who have made, are making and will make a life choice for Him; he does not want to lose the work of His hands.

Am I aware of my belonging to the Lord's flock?

Do I insist on listening to the Eternal Word?

Have I been easily following other voices and other paths?

Am I distant from God?

Have I felt God's love in my life?

Have I noticed Him looking for me?

Do I really want to be found by Him right now?

A big and loving hug.