Reading
Matthew 18:12-14
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Comment
With the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus restores an image of God that recalls the compassion on which the ancient covenant with the people of Israel, many times unfaithful, yet always sought and reconciled with God. This apprehension of the Lord for the salvation of his people, and which extends - as already announced by the prophets of the post-exilic era - to all nations, finds its fulfillment in the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word. In Christ, the good shepherd, God's mercy finds a human heart in which to beat. He leaves "the mountains" (v. 12), leaves the heights of his celestial glory, to descend into the valleys, often dark, where lost humanity dwells.
God rejoices in the salvation of his flock not only as a multitude but of every single one of his sheep. The image of this animal should not lead us to consider the believer as a passive creature in the hands of God. The possibility of moving away from him clearly marks the figure of our personal freedom. But at the same time, our good is realized within a relationship with God, who calls each of us by name (Jn 10:3), thus recognizing our uniqueness. It is he who guides us to grassy pastures (Ps 22:2). It is he who makes us rest in safety (Ps 4:9). The attitude of the good shepherd is for believers a model of the solicitude they must show towards every man in search of the way to salvation.
Prayer
O Lord, you call us by name. Open our ears to your voice, that we may rejoice with you in our salvation. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
