Gospel: Lk 15:3-7
JESUS addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes: “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘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.”
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Jesus is the Good Shepherd in the parable. The 99 sheep stand for the scribes and Pharisees. The lost sheep is any acknowledged sinner like a tax collector or a prostitute. He leaves the 99 in the wilderness as he looks for the lost sheep and, finding it, lays it on his shoulders and brings it home.
Jesus takes the lost sheep home to enjoy a place of privilege and moments of intimacy with the Shepherd. The lost sheep in Israel – the derelicts, the so-called junkies in Jewish society – feel and experience acceptance from God for the first time. Jesus celebrates this homecoming, and he wants to share his joy with his friends.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publish[email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
