Luke records Jesus being critiqued for eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus responds to the criticism from the Pharisees and the scribes as well as his disciples who are present as well by sharing three parables, two of which we read today, and the third, the Prodigal Son, which is often reserved for reading on Sunday during this liturgical cycle of readings.
The two parables we are given today display the extravagant love that our God and Father has for his children. Though we may not find being compared to a sheep or a coin endearing, the imagery of the shepherd going to find the one lost sheep and the woman searching all over her house for the one lost coin is a message well worth meditating upon.
This is a wonderful distinction about our faith. Many within and without many religious traditions seek God. In Catholicism we believe, God seeks us out and never stops looking and inviting. He never tires of forgiving, guiding, and loving us, even when we may time and again walk away. God’s patience is ever present. “God relentlessly seeks out the sinner” (Gadenz, 273). Being compared to a sheep or a going doesn’t sound so bad now, does it? 🙂
Someone hearing this parable might say, “Why bother looking for the one sheep when you have ninety-nine other sheep or why bother looking for one insignificant coin when you have nine other ones?” But if we reflect upon this parable for a bit we might recall a time or feel right now in this moment that we may be feel lost, insignificant, or alone. What Jesus is telling us is that we matter. That God loves us more than we can ever imagine, and he is constantly seeking us out. God is the creator of the vast expanse of the cosmos while at the same time he cares for each and every one of us in a radical love of particularity. He cares for you as if you were the only person in the world.
We do not need to look for God so much as we need to just stop, be still, and notice he is already waiting for us. If we feel a bit worn, weary, misunderstood, lost, lonely or under appreciated, rest assured. God cares. God is present, yes, even in the midst of any conflicts, challenges, trials and/or tribulations that we may be going through. Even if we have separated ourselves from him through our sin, Jesus loves us more than we can ever mess up and he is the shepherd that watches over us and seeks us out even when we walk away from him. Return to him and allow yourself to experience the healing balm of his forgiveness.
We return by letting go of control, breathing, and allowing ourselves to experience the loving embrace of Jesus, allowing ourselves to be loved, to be filled up. Making the time to rest, receive and abide in God’s love, we will then have more to share with someone we encounter who may also need to know that they matter, that they have dignity, are not alone, and that they too as we are – loved.
Photo: One of my favorite pencil drawings by Kathryn J. Brown, 1982. Come let us rest in our Lord’s embrace and be loved by the Good Shepherd for a while.
Gardens, Pablo T. The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018.
