COMMENT ON THE LITURGY OF THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Collect
O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings
1 Pt 5:5-11; Lc 15:1-10
Comment
The iconography of the good shepherd or, more precisely, of the "beautiful" shepherd (the Greek term is, in fact, kalòs), also belonged to the Greek and Roman world, before the advent of Christianity, and was considered a good omen for the dead. Compared to the analogous account of Matthew the evangelist Luke adds the detail of the shepherd who places the sheep found on his shoulders.
The image of God as the shepherd of Israel, who shows his love for the lost sheep, is very present in Jewish religiosity, and in particular in prophetic literature. Thus in Ezekiel we read: "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness'" (Ez 34:11-12). And then there is the well-known Psalm 23, traditionally also used in the funeral rite: "The Lord is my shepherd" (Ps 23:1).
The protagonist of the parable behaves in a paradoxical way, challenging the common human logic: who would leave ninety-nine sheep to go and look for a single one that is lost, without the certainty of finding it, and with the risk of losing the entire flock?
God does not think economically, simply in terms of costs and benefits. His love for us is love not only for humanity as a whole but for our individuality. This is why he takes it upon himself to come and look for us, even if we are the only ones missing from his flock.
He does not abandon us and does not even stay in the fold waiting for our return, but he comes to meet us, he struggles to find us and when he has found us he adds effort with effort by loading us on his shoulders. Thus we find in this image the passion of God incarnate for humanity.
God asks of us the same concern for the weaker brother, in the awareness that we are all precious in his eyes and that he has come so that nothing is lost.
Let us humble ourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, as the apostle Peter admonishes us (1 Pt 5:6); because if we allow ourselves to be found, his hand reaches us, not to punish us, but as an outstretched hand, which offers us his help and his comfort, in every danger and adversity.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
