The Bible abounds with strange proportions that defy mathematical logic. Perhaps the most compelling of all these equations, though, is the parable of the one sheep and the ninety-nine. In today’s Gospel reading we hear the story of the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep in order to seek out the one lost sheep. Jesus poses the question, “Which man among you would not leave the ninety-nine to go after the lost sheep?”
Strange Mathematics
After a moment, however, we might pause and wonder if we’ve heard him wrong. It doesn’t make much sense for a shepherd to leave so many of his flock in order to go after one he might not even find. Shouldn’t he guard the ones he already has, rather than venturing out for one lone sheep? Yet here is where the strange logic of God’s love for his people enters into the equation. Not only is the one lost sheep worth as much as any of the others, but in a way, it is worth more than all the others combined. God, the divine shepherd, is willing to risk losing all the others for sake of finding the one. He rejoices more over finding that one than he would with the security of all the others. Strange mathematics indeed!
Rescue Mission
Recently I watched a film, The Sound of Freedom, which powerfully illustrates this parable of the one lost sheep. It tells the story of children lost to trafficking and the federal agent, Tim Ballard, who takes on the mission of recovering them. Early on he is enlisted to find two particular young children. When he finds the brother, he sets out to find the sister. Yet soon discovers she is essentially lost beyond all hope, deep in the heart of the Colombian jungle. While it would have made more sense for Ballard to return home to his own children, he sets forth even more tenaciously in the search to find this young girl. He braves a perilous journey into the jungle and at length finds her in a village. Later that night, he comes to rescue her out of her hut, bearing her on his shoulders as they escape the jungle. The image of Ballard carrying her away to freedom is nothing less than the icon of Christ the divine Shepherd, venturing into the very darkest places in order to rescue the one lost sheep.
The parable of the one lost sheep strikes a personal chord for me. I, too, have been the one lost sheep. As a Hindu, I grew up far outside the Christian fold. By a sheer stroke of grace, however, He called me out of the darkness and gathered me close to His Heart. He allowed me to join the rest of the flock. I have often wondered why the Lord would bother seeking one like me who was so far away from His own. And yet, this is the beauty of divine logic: the one lost sheep is of immeasurable value in the eyes of God.
Both the One and the Ninety-Nine
As I have moved forward in the life of faith, I have puzzled over this story of the one and the ninety-nine. How does it add up? The reality is that each of us who follow Christ have been the one lone sheep at some point. When He rescues us from the wilderness, we then become part of the flock and may then pray for the rescue of another lost sheep. Yet in a way, perhaps even long after our deliverance, a part of us may always drift away as the one lost sheep, even while we remain among the ninety-nine. Here we stumble onto a gem-like mystery of our life as Christians: we are both the one and the ninety-nine. For as the one, we find ourselves lost and in desperate need of the good shepherd. While as part of the ninety-nine, we abide in the joy of belonging to Him.
Another fabulous reflection. I like this particular parable because Jesus asks those gathered around him who among you would not leave the 99 and go after the one? And the answer is they all would say no Shepherd would ever do that, and yet there is the illustration of God‘s love that HE would go after the one. In a sense if we are lost, we want someone like God to be our shepherd knowing HE would come looking for us no matter what.