Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 5, 2020
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.”
“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
My first reaction to this parable is to think that Jesus is being unfair. I think back to a third grade classroom where a friend was rewarded for not misbehaving. He was given more time and individual attention from the teacher than the other members of the class. The rest of us received nothing, even for good behavior, and it didn’t seem right. But this isn’t like third grade. This parable calls us to see things from the shepherd’s perspective, not the sheeps’.
We are ALL lost sheep. In truth, this parable is more radically inclusive than exclusive. We may strive for righteousness, but there was only one man who was truly righteous, and he is also God. When I realize that fact, my perception of this gospel goes from resistance to relief.
Although I may be lost in a wilderness of sin or vice, Jesus tells us that God will search for me, and God will rejoice when I am found. God searches for each lost sheep individually. There can be no greater comfort.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, like the angels in heaven, may our hearts rejoice over the sinner who repents, over the doubting who find faith, over the despairing who find hope, over the lonely who find love. With you, may we zealously seek out the lost of our world, so that, like us, they may find their true home in you. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Elizabeth and Zechariah were the parents of John the Baptist. Elizabeth was the cousin of the Virgin Mary, and Zechariah was a priest in Jerusalem. As depicted in this stained glass window from the Basilica, an angel visited Zechariah in an incense-filled vision when he was in the temple. The angel told him that Elizabeth, who was well beyond child-bearing years, would have a son and they should name him John.
Zechariah doubted the news and the angel struck him mute. When their child was born, he was consulted as to what name their son should be given. When he wrote on a slate that the boy shall be called John, his speech was restored.
After the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel told Mary she would bear the Son of God, Mary traveled to be with Elizabeth as she prepared for motherhood. Upon hearing Mary's greeting, Elizabeth cried out:
"Most blessed are you among women, and blessed in the fruit of you womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
— Lk 1:42-45
We celebrate this moment on the Feast of the Visitation, which is held on May 31 each year to mark the end of the month dedicated to Mary.
Elizabeth is the patron of pregnant women. Relics of both Elizabeth and Zechariah rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, as does a piece of the house they lived in.
Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah, parents of John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord—pray for us!