Word of life
In the Old Testament, shepherds counted their sheep upon returning from the fields, determined to find one that had strayed. They even ventured into the desert at night to find the lost sheep. This parable is a story of loss and discovery that foregrounds the shepherd's love. He realizes that a sheep is missing, searches for it, finds it, and carries it on his shoulders because it is weak and frightened, perhaps injured, and unable to follow the shepherd on its own. It is he who leads it to safety and, finally, filled with joy, invites his neighbors to celebrate with him. "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost." The recurring themes of this story can be summarized in three verbs: to be lost, to find, and to celebrate. To be lost. The good news is that the Lord goes to seek those who stray. We often get lost in nearby deserts, or in those where we are forced to live, or in those where we take refuge. They are the deserts of abandonment, marginalization, poverty, misunderstanding, and lack of unity. The Shepherd also seeks us there, and even if we lose sight of him, he will always find us. To find. Let us try to imagine the scene of the shepherd's anxious search in the desert. It is an image that strikes with its expressive power. We can understand the joy of both the shepherd and the sheep. The encounter between the two restores to the sheep the sense of security of having escaped danger. Therefore, the "finding" is an act of divine mercy. To celebrate. He gathers his friends to celebrate, because he wants to share their joy, just as happens in the other two parables that follow this one, that of the lost coin and that of the merciful father (cf. Lk 15:8 and 15:11). Jesus wants us to understand the importance of sharing in joy with everyone, and he immunizes us against the temptation to judge others. We are all "found" people. “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” This Word of life is an invitation to be grateful for the mercy God has for all of us personally. The act of rejoicing, of rejoicing together, presents us with an image of unity where there is no contrast between the just and the sinners, but rather we all share in each other’s joy. Chiara Lubich writes: “It is an invitation to understand God’s heart, to believe in his love. Inclined as we are to calculate and measure, we sometimes think that God’s love for us could even grow weary… God’s logic is not like ours. God always awaits us; indeed, we give him immense joy every time we return to him, even if it were an infinite number of times.”[1] “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Sometimes we can be the shepherds, those who care for one another and go out with love to seek out those who have strayed from us, from our friendship, from our community; to seek out the marginalized, the lost, the little ones, those whom life's trials have pushed to the margins of our society. One teacher tells us: "There were several students who came to class sporadically. During my free time, I used to go to the market next to the school, hoping to find them there, because I had heard that they worked there to earn some money. One day I finally saw them, and they were amazed that I had personally gone to look for them, and they were struck by how important they were to the entire educational community. From then on, they began to come to class regularly, and it was truly a celebration for everyone." Patrizia Mazzola and the Word of Life team [1] C. Lubich, Palabra de vida, September 1986: Palabras de Vida/1 (1943-1990) (ed. F. Ciardi), Ciudad Nueva, Madrid 2020, pp. 387-388.
