The Noontimes

Luke 15:4-6: With Great Joy

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Jesus poses a question to us.

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them—what do you do? 

Jesus shows the path to us.

You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it.

Jesus recalls our humanity for us.

When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders, and with great joy you carry it back home.

Jesus models a faith-filled life for us.

Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, “I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!”

When confronted with an enormous problem or a nagging worry, we consider the abiding faith Jesus shows us when he abandons the ninety-nine in search of the one. Might we be so courageous as to allow God to guide our actions? We also consider the hopeful persistence Jesus displays as he endures in his search for the one lost sheep. Might we persevere and allow God to bolster our work in the kingdom? And we consider the compassionate, joy-filled mercy with which Jesus celebrates. Might we be as exuberant in our love for even the darkest of our nights and the most difficult of our days, always knowing that these trials will ultimately bring us great joy?

When we use the scripture link and the drop-down menus to compare varying translations of these verses, we find that in our darkest circumstances, in our longest battles, and in the narrowest of places, Jesus shows us that with the Good Shepherd we might find the faith, hope and love to celebrate with great joy.

Images from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Lost_Sheep and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Champaigne_shepherd.jpg