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“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?”
Matthew 18:12
This Gospel passage goes on to say that the man who finds that one
stray sheep “rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that
did not stray.” At first, this might seem unfair. Why not primarily
rejoice over the ninety-nine who did not stray? Saint Hillary, in
commenting on this passage, interprets the man who sought out the
one stray sheep as the Son of God. He left the “ninety-nine,”
meaning the glory of the hosts of Heaven, to descend to earth to
seek out straying humanity. Humanity as a whole is that one lost
sheep. That includes us all.
The first thing this interpretation reveals to us is that the Son
of God was clearly sent on a mission to seek out each and every one
of us after we strayed far from the Father in Heaven. The Father
did not sit back and wait for us to return. Rather, He sent the Son
on a diligent mission of seeking us out to bring us back into His
divine fold.
As we reflect upon this passage, it is important to see the zeal
and determination of our Lord as He seeks us out. Do you see this
in your own life? Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking
that it is primarily our responsibility to seek out God. And though
we certainly have this responsibility, our duty is made much easier
when we understand how passionately our Lord seeks us out and
desires to find us when we stray. Only in Heaven will we fully
understand all that our Lord has done to seek us out, day in and
day out. But for now, we must strive to understand this spiritual
truth so that we will be more open to Jesus’ diligent search for
us.
A second thing this passage reveals is the joy in the Heart of the
Son of God every time He finds us and carries us away from our sin.
Too often we can fall into the trap of seeing God as a judgmental
God who is angry at us and condemning. But if we understand the
extent to which the Son of God went, so as to find us when we
stray, and if we can understand the joy in His heart upon finding
us and carrying us away from sin, then we will more readily open
ourselves to Him, to His gentle invitations, and to His merciful
Heart every time He comes to us by grace.
Reflect, today, upon the great anticipation in the Heart of our
Lord as He personally seeks you out. The anticipation is that of
joy—the joy that He is filled with as He picks you up and gently
carries you back to the Father. Allow this joy in the Heart of our
Lord to come to fruition so that you will share in this abundance
of joy.
My diligent Lord, You seek me out, day and night, never tiring
of calling me to return more fully to Yourself. Please help me to
fill Your Heart with joy by always responding to Your gentle
invitations of love and mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
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