Finding Ourselves in the Lost and Found
Excerpt from Luke 15:3-7
“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?”
Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver
In Jesus’ parable, the shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to save the one that is lost. When he finds the lost sheep, he is so tipsy with joy that he throws a party. And at this party the sheep is not the main dish, he’s the guest of honor.
If you are one of the ninety-nine who were left in the fold, that is not a very satisfying end to the story. You can feel ignored, deserted even. Why is attention lavished on the one who is in need and so little attention given to the others? Is that fair? If you are one of the ninety-nine, it may not seem so.
But our lives are such that we all get to be lost sometime.
We are forever encountering fresh examples of this: the once vigorous man who now cannot walk across the room without assistance; the woman who now has to be introduced to her daughter every time her daughter comes to visit; the self-made man whose business is now in a shambles; the woman who returned home to find her partner packing his bags.
You see, there really is no ninety-nine forever safely tucked into the fold. We all get to be lost sometime.
A mother of eight children was asked if she had any favorites. She replied, “Favorites? Yes, I have favorites. I love the one who is sickest until he is well. I love the one who is in trouble until she is safe again. And I love the one who is farthest away until he comes home.”
That is the Good News: God has a special attachment to those who are lost. And we all get to be lost sometime.
Prayer
God, please stay with me when I am in the safety of the fold, and seek me out when I am one of the lost.
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