“If a man has 100 sheep and one goes astray…”
What makes our God the kind we want to worship?
The parable of the man who has a hundred sheep serves as the backdrop for the answer.
Jesus, while in the land where shepherds and sheep are common, asks a simple sounding question.
“If a man (shepherd) 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?”
A seasoned shepherd in the crowd would answer: “No, of course not! A shepherd would have to be crazy to leave ninety-nine sheep unattended as prey for wolves and thieves – simply to retrieve a wayward sheep. Only a fool would do such an idiotic thing!”
True. What kind of shepherd would do this?
Now picture instead, yourself as the wayward sheep you are, or once were. Would you not like and want the kind of shepherd who would come after you and persist in looking for you until he found you? Would it matter that the reason you were lost was a result of your own foolishness.
Speaking for myself, I am humbled that the God we worship is that kind of a foolish shepherd, the kind who would leave His throne in heaven just to come looking for me, to save me from the consequences of my foolishness.
Did you see that your guardian angel in this Gospel passage?
The angels of the little ones described in the first half to today’s Gospel are present in heaven always looking upon the face of our heavenly Father. (cf. Mt 18:10).
This is a confirmation of our understanding that we have guardian angels assigned to enlighten, protect, and guide us. We also recognize that these angels do not leave us as we grow into adulthood. The connection here to children is meant to compare God’s tender care of the little ones with the care for a lost sheep in the parable that Jesus then propounds.
The God we have and our role in His mission
We should reflect on the fact that while we think we search to bring Jesus and God into our life, it is actually God who goes after us repeatedly in order to bring us into His fold.
The parable is also about how God also uses us to accomplish His goal. We participate in a similar role, in imitation of Christ, when we seek out those who have strayed from the Church and assist them in returning to the fold.
As St. Luke tells us, “There will be more joy in heaven over a sinner who repents, than the ninety-nine who need no repentance.” Imagine your actions being, in part, the instrument of that kind of joy in heaven. (Lk 15:7).
