Parable of the Lost Sheep
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the 99 others in the wilderness and go to search for the 1 that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! ~Luke 15:1-7
The rejoicing of the shepherd with his friends represents God rejoicing with the angels. Justus Knecht, German Bishop, wrote in 1910: “By the simile of the Good Shepherd our Lord teaches us how great is His compassionate love for all mankind. All men, Jews and Gentiles, are His sheep, and He gave His life for all, being sacrificed on the Cross to redeem them from sin and hell. He is therefore the only Good Shepherd, and all others who are called to the pastoral office are good shepherds only so far as they imitate Jesus in their love and care of the flock confided to them. Moreover Jesus knows His own. He knows all about them, their needs, their weakness, their thoughts, their endeavours; He leads them into the fold of His Church, He helps them by His grace, He enlightens them by His doctrine, and nourishes and strengthens them with His Flesh and Blood in the most Blessed Sacrament. His pastoral love is, therefore, infinite and divine.”
God has made me aware that my mission is to find and bring back the 1 of the 99 who has gone astray. I watch spellbound to Billy Graham speaking so well to the multitudes and leading millions of people to Christ and wish that I had his charisma. But, alas, that is not my calling. God has been preparing me for a lifetime* (*proper attribution to those who know) to go after the lost that He sends me to, but it won’t be swaths of people at once, it will be very surgical and specific. My repeated heart hymn to God is “send me the one and we can save the rest”. My mission might not just be one person, but many ones, I am not sure.
Interestingly, I just realized today that my logo for my blog here which I made from the beginning and have not changed, is Jesus as the Good Shepherd!
When I was a little girl, one day after school I was by myself waiting for my ride home and I had this thought in my mind that I would live 99 years. I now know that came from God. But now I also think this was more symbolism to my mission which has been in place since He created me. The 99/1 vision.
I love that only in God’s economy is this worthwhile. In man’s economy this is foolish, but the ways of God are foolishness to man. And a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. This is God’s economy.
I don’t know who or where the 1s are, but I pray to God that I am successful at finding them and leading them Home.
~Song of Mary~ 