Daily Reflection for Friday, June 24, 2022
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Friday’s readings at this link:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062422.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16
Responsorial: Psalms: 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6.
Second Reading: Romans 5:5b-11
Gospel: Luke 15:3-7
Our reflection on Friday’s readings:
“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?” Luke 15:3
I imagine that Jesus might have written “pause for laughter” in his notes after this line. Of course, no one in their right mind would leave the ninety-nine in the desert to go after one troublesome sheep. Jesus’ audience would probably have laughed out loud, but this crazy parable of the lost sheep points to an important truth about God – he is insanely in love with each of us and will do whatever it takes to find us.
I was at a Kairos Prison Ministry service a few weeks ago, and the band played a song called Reckless Love. Some of the lyrics of the song are:
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the 99
There's no shadow you won't light up
Mountain you won't climb up
Coming after me
There's no wall you won't kick down
Lie you won't tear down
Coming after me
The lyrics are powerful and the band (comprised entirely of prisoners) sang it beautifully. But more than that, I was taken aback at how many of us, volunteers and prisoners alike, were choked up by the message of the song. God promises that he’ll never give up on us, no matter how lost we are, and that kind of love can be overwhelming at times.
The parable of the prodigal son and the parable of the lost sheep both give me a lot of hope. In the first parable, the father knows his son and understands that eventually he will come to his senses and return home. So he watches and waits patiently until that day arrives. In the second parable, the shepherd understands that the sheep is too lost to be able to find his way back, so he goes out to find him. Combined, these parables paint the picture of a God who desperately wants to be with his children, who knows what each person needs, and who does whatever is best in the perfect timeframe in order to draw them to himself.
Being lost is scary. It’s scary for us, and it’s scary for those we love. But our hope is in a God who recklessly seeks and finds his children, no what matter what the cost.
Grace and Peace to you,
Gerard Randall