In today's Gospel we see Jesus express the love that the Father in heaven has for us on earth. He uses the analogy of a shepherd who has lost a single sheep amidst having ninety-nine other sheep to tend to and take care of. "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?" (Mt. 18:12). This is the unconditional love of God. This is the unending length of the mercy he has for us. When we are lost, it is we who have turned away and fled, and it is God who is chasing after us, in constant pursuit to bring us back into the community of saints. It is up to us to be carried back on his shoulders as a shepherd would a lost lamb, for God loves us so much, that he desires us to desire him. There is no coercion, no forcefulness, no disrespect for our free will; God wants us to choose to love him. At times we may feel so distant from God that we do not love him, that we want to run away and be "free" from his embrace. But this is not true freedom, this is enslavement to ourselves and to our sins. God, unconditionally, will love us, because he created us whole and entire. We are his creations, his sons and daughters. Jesus uses the parable of the lost sheep, because when you have ninety-nine sheep to look after, one does not seem like a big problem. But for God, that one, you, is everything to him.
Reflection: Am I wandering away from God?
Lord God, thank you for today and everyday. Thank you for your love and mercy. Send forth your Spirit Lord, that I may be back in your loving embrace in the times that I choose to fall away from you. I pray, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.