By Beth DeCristofaro
 |
Lost Sheep Overgrown
with Wool
|
But
whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More
than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (Philippians 3:7-8)
‘Rejoice
with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be
more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous
people who have no need of repentance. (Luke 15:6-7)
Piety
Be merciful to me,
a sinner. I praise you and I thank you
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world and saved me, O Lord.
Study
Marines famously
say “no man left behind” promising to bring any comrade home from combat. Many nations have policies refusing to deal
with terrorists who demand ransom for their citizens held hostage. I once pulled a carpet away from the wall,
later having to pound the holding nails back in, when looking in vain for a
lost ring. I’ve also lost track of friends, sometimes due to sluggish attention
to keeping them in my life. As months or
years go by I am often embarrassed to reconnect. To what ends do we look for what is lost? Do we truly value what we have and go all
out? And in what way do we rejoice?
Jesus’ parable show
just how much He values us. It was not
common practice for the shepherds of his day to leave their flocks unattended
and unguarded to traipse through the wilderness after one missing lamb. But Jesus’ role was to save not be saved. In
yesterday’s Gospel Jesus tells his disciples: I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent
me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise
it on the last day. (John 6:39) We are of immense value to Jesus in the
name of God. He valued us so much he
gave his life.
Action
Paul was awed at Jesus’ saving Shepherding and
his ministry illustrates it. Paul most
certainly would have identified with the sheep in the photo above. Paul, as zealous Jew, was overgrown, weighed
down, constricted by the sins which accumulated in his life as a lost sheep
even as he thought himself a good role model of the Chosen People.
What has accumulated on our backs as we
wander our own paths rather than residing in the sheepfold of the “supreme good
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord? In what
active way can you “lose” some weight as did Paul because of the supreme good
of knowing Christ? In what concrete way
can you see past the “weight” of another lost sheep and offer love such as
Christ would do were he lucky enough to be you? (Thanks, Fr. Joe!)
Image credit: USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/02/sheep-lost-australia-yields-93-pounds-wool/71622362/)
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