Month: December 2021

In today’s parable, Jesus holds up a gentle image of the love of God for each one of us. A love so great that it leaves the 99 who seem to be holding their own in order to go in search of a single one who went astray.

Why did the one stray from the flock? Was he confused, or belligerent, or determined to seek something outside of the pasture? Was he lured away, dragged away, coerced away? We don’t know, and it doesn’t seem to matter. The shepherd does not ask why the one strayed, so we need not either; it is enough to know that sheep stray. But we might ask, as a point of reflection, why the shepherd goes out to search for it!

In purely practical terms, one lost sheep is not a big deal. After all, 100 sheep is a lot, but 99 is almost as many. The economic value of the flock hasn’t been affected; a 1% loss is factored into these calculations, surely. And isn’t leaving the 99 a bit of a risk? They need shepherding too. They are at risk too. And yet he leaves them in pursuit.

Not only does the shepherd leave the 99 to go in search of the one who strayed, when he finds it he rejoices MORE than over the 99 who did not stray. Again, we might ask: Why?

The answer is always LOVE. The shepherd knows and loves each sheep personally. When one sheep strays, the shepherd knows it is in danger, it is suffering, it is in peril of eternal death. And love does not allow one who loves to remain complacent or use superficial cost-benefit calculations before deciding to act. Love acts. Love always has the good of the beloved in view, and not the personal cost. Love pours itself out for the good of the other. And the Shepherd pours Himself out for the good of each and every sheep.

When we stray, Jesus knows that we are in danger, we are suffering, we are in peril of eternal death. And so, no matter why we have strayed, he uses every means to reach out to us and bring us back. As Pope Francis said in a General Audience (5/4/16): “In Jesus’ vision there are no sheep that are definitively lost, but only sheep that must be found again. We need to understand this well: to God no one is definitively lost. Never! To the last moment, God is searching for us.” What a consolation and assurance for us! And when this Truth sinks into our being, we can assure others who have strayed that God is holding out His forgiveness.

“God never tires of forgiving us… Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love” (Evangelii Gaudium, 3).

We are borne on the Shepherd’s shoulders. That is the Good News.

Contact the author

Before we know how to act we must first know who we are. This is a basic philosophical tenet that shaped the thought of great minds such as St. John Paul II. If we look at the world today I think we can pin a majority of the problems, if not all of them, on the fact that we have forgotten who we are and therefore have failed in the ways we act.

Today’s First Reading should have hit you in the face a little with the reality of who we really are. “For God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever.” This doesn’t sound like empty words from a distant God, but personal words by a God who loves us and knows us. So the question becomes, what do we do with this type of information?

When we are hit with the reality that we are made by a God who loves us and has created us with unmatched dignity, that must affect the way we act. The bird who is made to fly does not sit and dream about the clouds. Often, faith can become a laundry list of rules and regulations, but more than just avoiding sin, God is calling us to live in virtue.

What’s the difference? Well, virtue is seeking the good. It is to look at every moment in our lives and strive to not only recognize the good, but to do it. This is what is proper to the human person because we are made by God as good. Genesis tells us as much when we hear that we are very good. 

Sin, on the other hand, is a lack of good. This is why it bothers me when people make excuses for sin and say things like, “Well, I’m only human.” It is precisely because you are human that you are called to seek that good and avoid the lack thereof. It is the very fact that we are made in the image and likeness of God that should inspire us to live virtuous lives as opposed to just avoiding evil. This is why St. Augustine could be so bold in saying, “Love and do what you will.” This is not a blanket acceptance of sin or an affirmation to not try, on the contrary, it is a higher calling to love rightly. When we love in the way that God loves, we no longer desire sin as much and we start to seek the good.

During this Advent season, let’s all try to focus on growing in virtue and arriving at Christmas as the types of human beings who when we act like a saint we say, “Well of course, that’s exactly the type of behavior a human being would have, we are made in the image of God after all, and that means something.” From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!

Contact the author