Searching for Jesus Until He Finds Us

Gospel
Matthew 18:12-14

The one lost sheep gives him more joy than the ninety-nine that did not stray

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.’

Sheep are rather dull-witted animals.  But, I guess they have a pretty good life.  I mean that there is always a human being, usually somewhat smarter then they are looking after them.  They live their lives peacefully.  They spend much of the time eating and growing wool which their master comes and cuts off of them every so often, they don't seem to mind.  On their list of things to do every day, thinking is way down at the bottom of the list.  Once in a while one of them, usually a lamb, too young to even know how dangerous it is to stray from the flock, wanders off, drawn by a weed that looks different or perhaps he just wants to get a better look at that tree over yonder.  He wanders off and soon the flock is out of sight.  Noone in the flock seems to know that he is missing.  No, the flock is very happy eating, bumping each other to get to a better-looking patch of grass and making noise just to hear themselves.  

The shepherd senses something is wrong.  He knows his sheep and he counts them and sees one is missing.  He immediately leaves the herd and starts to look for the lost lamb.  Meanwhile, our lamb has gotten caught in a thicket.  He sings a plaintive song which soon becomes a song where panic can be heard as an undertone.  A wolf is in the neighborhood and the wind brings him the cry of the lamb. He knows where the herd is and he stays away because when he gets close, the shepherd, a man with no sense of humor when it comes to the welfare of his flock, chases him away with stones and runs at him with his stick ready to flay the tar out of the wolf.   So he backs off and will only approach when conditions are right.  The sound of a lamb in trouble is his call to lunch.  He begins to make his way to where the sound of the scared lamb casserole on the hoof draws him.  Our shepherd too hears the cry of the lost one.  It is coming from the thicket grove which is rich with thorned plants that probably have caught the lost lamb who must be out of his mind (such as it is)  with fear.  There is no time to waste. The shepherd picks up his pace and makes for the sound of his lost little lamb. 

The wolf also has picked up his pace, the growling in his stomach serving to add spring to his step.  He arrives at the thicket before the shepherd does.  He growls and saliva drips from his mouth as he bares his teeth at the lamb.  The lamb sounds the alarm and just as the wolf was going to leap and claim his prize, he is pelted with three good sized rocks which sting him and one of them draws blood.  He turns around and there on the high ground is the shepherd.  There is no time to consider what to do, another rock hits him in the side.  The shepherd comes running with his deadly crook high above his head.  The wolf beats feet thinking that lamb is fattening, maybe he should look for a nice rabbit for lunch.   The lamb hears the shepherds voice and is calmed.  He knows he is safe.  With a bit of pulling, the lamb, shaking in fright, is freed from the bramble and the shepherd carries him on his neck back to the safety of the herd. 

Jesus is our shepherd.  He knows each one of us better than we know ourselves.  He watches out for us.  He loves each one us with a love that we will never understand because it is so deep and so strong.  He loves each member of the herd.  The herd though is a nameless gathering of sheep. His love goes deeper.  He loves you as an individual.  He loves you because he sees you like the special, unique creature that you are.  There is no one just like you.  He created you and there is no duplicate anywhere in the world.  Even if you are one of a set of identical twins, He knows who is who and can tell which is which better than their mother can.  He has such love for you that he died so that you might inherit eternal life with Him in heaven. He rose so that you would not be afraid of death because you would know that it was not an end.  He loved you so much and is such a good shepherd how can we ignore Him? 

Our days are busy as we go from one thing to another and we fall into bed dead tired at night and we don't take time to pray.  We need to be less busy and more attentive to the spiritual side of ourselves. A minute or two is all He asks for. He did so much for us, can't we give him just that minute before we sleep or before we rise for the work of the next day?  Perhaps we can stop the clock for just a minute or two to say a prayer of thanks for all that He has done and all that He continues to do for us.  Make it a point to have a prayer minute, just sixty seconds, sometime during the day.  It will start you on the road to becoming a prayer warrior.  

Please remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory today, they really need your prayers.  Thank you for whatever you can do during your busy, busy day.