A hundred sheep and one goes missing. But leaving the ninety-nine without a
shepherd while you go looking leaves them all open to danger. What would you do? We live in a risk-averse society which
places value on protecting our assets. Trying to get beyond our familiarity
with the story, what do we really think of the course of action which the
shepherd takes?
Jesus came to turn our view of the world upside
down. The way he puts the question - will he not leave the ninety-nine? –
presupposes the perhaps reckless action of the shepherd in pursuit of the one
sheep who ‘wandered off’.
And Jesus offers us the startling explanation,
overturning our safe and logical approaches
- it is not the will of the
Father that any of these little ones should be lost.
Love, faithfulness and searching beyond all common
sense. Thank God that His love is so
great that – even if we wander off again and again and again - He will not let
us be lost.
Laisser nonante- neuf
moutons pour partir à la recherche d'un qui s’est égaré n'est pas très logique,
mais Jésus nous montre par cette histoire que c’est la volonté du Père «
qu’aucun ne soit perdu ».
Amour, fidélité et chercher
au-delà de tout sens commun celui qui s’est perdu. Remercions Dieu que son amour soit si grand
que même si nous nous égarons encore et encore, il ne nous laissera pas nous
perdre.
Mags
Bird
Collect
Almighty God,
who called your servant Cuthbert from following the
flock
to follow your Son and to be a shepherd of your
people:
in your mercy, grant that we, following his example,
may bring those who are lost home to your fold;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
Crop of miniature in the British Library Yates Thomson MS 26, Bede's Prose Life of St Cuthbert, depicting the miracle where Cuthbert's body is discovered incorrupt, by Anonymous (12th century), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
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