Restoration

I have often wondered why a shepherd would leave the 99 just for the sake of one. This is the theme of the Gospel this Sunday. The love of God reaching as far as the one astray. But there is only one lost. There are 99 tamed sheep and safe. It is very optimistic to reflect on the numbers. There are more of us who will be in heaven and safety their souls.

We should rejoice because there is 99% chance also of being one of the 99. Sometimes, we will feel and sense that Jesus is not giving his full support and concentration in us. There are times that we may feel he is not listening to our prayers. Perhaps it is because he is just looking for the one who is away from us. He is a shepherd ready to leave the 99 for the sake of that one soul which is not yet in safety. Jesus himself is the shepherd in the parable. It is a call for concern. Perhaps it should not be ourselves who is the main concern of everybody. Let us, at one point, devote time to think of the needs of others. To let them have Jesus at the times of need. Give them Jesus!

Just like the shepherd, the woman lost one of the coins but there are still 9 coins safe. We may be one of the 9 coins and our being safe doesn't necessitates that the light is always on us. The light is used by the woman to search for the one coin. The coin hidden by darkness. Jesus is the light. The Bible is clear to that. John the Evangelist, pointed to Jesus as the light of the world. The Book of Revelations suggested also that in heaven there is no need for bulbs or any illumination device because Jesus himself will be the light. Jesus and his word symbolized by the light is used by the Church herself to search for its coin.Coin stands for talents.Remember the parable? A talent is used for service and only a person can use it for service. Because of our service or diakonia, we become part of the Church. So the lost coin symbolizes the part of the Church who is in darkness. The woman who own the coin is the Mother Church.

How about the father in the third parable? Of course, he is the analogue of the Father who is in heaven. Ready to embrace again a son who is lost. A son who squandered his inheritance. A son who pretended that his father is death but the truth is he died by leaving the values of the family. It is very clear when the father said "He was once dead and now has come to life again."

The 99 sheep and the 9 other coins should not be like the elder brother. We should open our minds and hearts that the other one is more in need of the mercy and care of the sheep, the light, and the father. There are only two apex of teaching we can deduce from here.

1. That our God is so persistent in loving us; and
2. That each of us who are not astray must rejoice that He is searching for the one astray. We should not grow envy and jealous.