“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.” (Mt 18:12-13)
Will he, really? This situation is what the world would call silly, stupid, idiotic. It implies that the shepherd has no time to call somebody else over, to look after 99 sheep for him, in the hills by themselves.
Will he, really? This situation is what the world would call silly, stupid, idiotic. It implies that the shepherd has no time to call somebody else over, to look after 99 sheep for him, in the hills by themselves.
Every minute counts, the one solitary sheep is wandering farther, in a risky place, prey to a thief or a wolf. But leaving the entire flock would expose them to the same dangers. Instead of one, he’s certain to lose many more. That doesn’t sound right, it’s foolhardy. He’d lose more, be a laughing stock.
But this is a secular worldview that’s cynical and selfish, always measuring greatness and success with a calculating outlook. It is not for the Christian disciple whose worldview is endued with a strong sense of the eternal.
Consider our BLD formation program. By it, we acquire the knowledge and love of the values of Christ the Lord. Who has not been tempted, for instance, to ignore the call to worship, to teachings, service or mission work, to relegate these realities of discipleship in favor of refreshing our bodies or spending time with our family? We have to examine whether such “conflicts” are real or imagined, and hold them up to the light of Mt 10:37-39. The worldview that our community fosters through formation and witnessing is continually challenged, especially when we evangelize. There will be times when we ask in frustration, “What’s the use, why do I toil without results?” St. Paul tells us that in ministry work, it is not us but “only God who causes the growth” (1 Cor 3:7). It is the mature and enlightened disciple who understands and lives the parable of the lost sheep. He works patiently, keeps his inner peace when faced with adversity, and truly rejoices when he finds the strayed or lost. He makes the right decisions as he remains docile to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. And he is not worried about the others in his flock, fully trusting that God knows best and is the real Shepherd.
But this is a secular worldview that’s cynical and selfish, always measuring greatness and success with a calculating outlook. It is not for the Christian disciple whose worldview is endued with a strong sense of the eternal.
Consider our BLD formation program. By it, we acquire the knowledge and love of the values of Christ the Lord. Who has not been tempted, for instance, to ignore the call to worship, to teachings, service or mission work, to relegate these realities of discipleship in favor of refreshing our bodies or spending time with our family? We have to examine whether such “conflicts” are real or imagined, and hold them up to the light of Mt 10:37-39. The worldview that our community fosters through formation and witnessing is continually challenged, especially when we evangelize. There will be times when we ask in frustration, “What’s the use, why do I toil without results?” St. Paul tells us that in ministry work, it is not us but “only God who causes the growth” (1 Cor 3:7). It is the mature and enlightened disciple who understands and lives the parable of the lost sheep. He works patiently, keeps his inner peace when faced with adversity, and truly rejoices when he finds the strayed or lost. He makes the right decisions as he remains docile to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. And he is not worried about the others in his flock, fully trusting that God knows best and is the real Shepherd.