November 5, 2015
I lose stuff all the time. I lose my keys (almost
daily), my shoes (because they are usually in my car somewhere), my coffee cup
(because I’ve set it down somewhere), my car in the parking lot (because
Leprechauns must move it), my mind a lot of times (because I work with
teenagers), my patience for sure (it’s a lovely family trait), and countless
other items. I lose things mostly because I’m too busy and my mind is always
multi-tasking doing several things at once, or I don’t pay attention to where I
left things, or I’m not rooted in prayer so my patience is thin, or I’m too
tired because I am always on the go. Losing stuff is fairly easy for me to do,
however, finding my lost stuff varies in difficulty, process, and time.
Sometimes I just need to stop what I’m doing and take a moment to think about
it and I’ll remember where I put it, other times there has been couch cushions
flying, tables turned upside down, pool table dismantled, refrigerators scoured
through, trash picking, and once I did almost dive into a dumpster. Obviously,
the amount of effort depends on the value of the lost item right? We’ve all
experienced the joy, relief, gratitude, and excitement of finding something
that was lost particularly if it was extremely valuable (i.e. a wedding ring)
and if it was lost for a very long time.
Now let’s make ourselves the lost item except we
haven’t been misplaced, we have wandered off on our own. Good Lord, if all my
lost objects had legs and could just roam around freely, I’d be in some serious
trouble and literally would NEVER find anything again. Because we are free, we
are free to roam, to wander, to leave, to get lost, but that does not mean that
God is not in hot pursuit of us. He’s on our heels all the time because the
value of his lost ones is worth the highest price, which he has already been
paid in Jesus Christ. The tricky part is that we need to let ourselves be
found. Unlike in today’s gospel, we are
not sheep or an inanimate object like a silver coin, we live and move and have
being, reason, free will, and the choice to be found or not. God makes it so
easy for us to just stop in our tracks, turn around and we will literally fall
into his arms.
I think a lot of times I get caught up in the chase
and what I really need is to be caught in the arms of mercy, love, and
forgiveness. I run because I am fearful and ashamed and he chases me because he
knows that. He just wants to hold me and to let me know that there is only rest
in his embrace. I know that I relentlessly search for silly things like my keys
and my sunglasses, but how much more relentless is God searching for me to just
sit and hold his hand? I know that most days I feel worthless of this kind of
pursuit, but today’s gospel shows me that God is not like me, he is not
limited, shallow, and guilt ridden; he is infinite, deep, and free. You see in
my pride I have tried to mold God into my own image and have forgotten that I
have already been breathed into existence in the image of love. How can I ever
feel worthless with that amazing gift so lavishly poured into my soul?
Let’s stop and be found today so that we can rest in
the embrace of infinite love and let mercy wipe away our shame so that we can
relentlessly pursue God because he is by far the easiest to find if we just
stop and look.
Reading 1 ROM 14:7-12
Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why then do you judge your brother or sister?
Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;
for it is written:
As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.
So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why then do you judge your brother or sister?
Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;
for it is written:
As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.
So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.
Responsorial Psalm PS 27:1BCDE, 4, 13-14
R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Alleluia MT 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 15:1-10
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“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.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“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.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
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