Jesus said to his disciples:
“What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.” (Mt 18:12-14)
I Just want to be a sheep, Baa, Baa, Baa.
I just want to be a sheep, Baa, Baa, Baa.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
I just want to be a sheep, Baa, Baa, Baa.
That child’s song was one that was often heard at Camp Lawrence during the summer sessions. The young children, especially, really got in to the song. The image conveyed was very important. We want to be considered one of the sheep and not one of the goats when the Lord judges us.
The Lord was very concerned for the welfare of His sheep. In today’s gospel, Jesus talked about the lengths a shepherd would go to in order to find a lamb that had strayed. He would even leave the flock behind and search out the lost.
God does the same with us. He searches and searches and searches for those who are lost so that He can bring them back to the flock. God does not want to see any of His people lost. He does not want to see any abandoned. He does not want to see anyone frightened. He wants us to be together as one people.
To what great length did God go in order to make all of that happen? Quite frankly, He went “all the way” by giving us His only begotten Son.
The Son, whose birth we prepare to celebrate two weeks from Thursday, came to bring the flock together. He came to make it possible for the flock to come home again when we end our days here on earth. He came to assure us the chance for everlasting life.
The angels rejoiced at that. They rejoiced the day that Jesus was born and they rejoice each time another soul rejects the hold of sin and comes to heaven.
You have choices you need to make today. May your choices give the angels a reason to celebrate!
FAITH ACTION: Pray for all the souls who have lost their way, that they may allow God to find them and bring them back to Himself.