Luke
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.
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Reflection:
A father
has already given up with his wayward son who was in and out of prison. He said
to his son, “I already give-up on you, I now give you to Jesus and I hope He
finds you.” After ten long years the lost son who was given-up by his father was found by Jesus and became a priest.
Finding
the lost is one of the most important reasons why Jesus walked on this world.
This is the character of Jesus, always reaching out to us who are lost. No
matter who we may be, no matter the sins that we’ve committed and no matter how
many we may be, Jesus desires to find us all and bring us once again to His
loving embrace.
These
actions of Jesus of not giving up invites us to reflect about our own actions
toward our fellowmen. How many times have we given up or judged our fellowmen
simply because they are lost or wayward based on our biased judgment. But who
are we to judge and give up on the lost and who are we to condemn them as good
for nothing?
Many
times over we’ve been lost also because of our sinfulness yet Jesus has not
given up on us even for a single moment. So we must also not give up on the
lost and we should not also judge the lost. Let us rather reach out to them and
let us make them feel the unconditional love of Jesus. We have wayward
relatives and friends for the simple reason that we’ve judged them already. We
gave-up on finding them and we already gave-up on showing them the
unconditional love and mercy of Jesus.
Let us
never give-up on anyone because Jesus has not given up on us. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas