Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Thursday, 6 November 2014

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Thursday, 6 November 2014 
Meditation: Luke 15: The Story of the Lost Sheep
1-3 By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.
4-7 “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.
The Story of the Lost Coin
8-10 “Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”

31st Week in Ordinary Time

Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep. (Luke 15:6)

Imagine that: all of heaven erupts in joy when just one sinner repents!

If you had joined the search party in today’s Gospel, you first would have recovered a lost sheep and then a lost coin. Both occasions were cause for celebration, to be sure. But then you would have regained a lost son as well—and moved to the music of a great feast.

But why did Jesus tell three stories to illustrate this truth, instead of just one? We can speculate that Jesus, a master story teller, wanted to weave together three parallel stories to emphasize his point. With each lost item being of greater value than the last, he drew in his audience so that his message would be heard loud and clear.

Maybe Jesus used repetition as a strategy to ensure that his audience would remember this lesson, which was central to all his teaching. He wanted to show us that a primary mission of the Church is found outside the church walls.

It’s also possible that by using three parables that were similar yet different, Jesus could offer a special insight to be uncovered within each one.

These are all possible, but here’s another explanation. Maybe by telling these three stories Jesus was offering his hearers a very personal glimpse into his own heart and mind. He knew that many of the people gathered around him that day had yet to experience him as someone who was dedicated to seeking them out and bringing them into God’s presence. So as he gazed at all the faces around him, he didn’t stop at just one story describing the joy in heaven when the lost are found. Only one story wasn’t enough to convey the joy he felt over finding and rescuing all who were lost. It wasn’t enough to convey the longing in the heart of a Triune God that remains as long as even one child hasn’t returned home.

Today, join those drawing near to Jesus. See him gaze back at you in love. You were lost, but now you are found! Hear the joy resounding in heaven over you! Then, open your heart to his longing for all of God’s children to return home.

“Lord Jesus, thank you for finding me! Send me out to help you seek and save all who are still lost.” Amen!

Psalm 105:1-6 Hallelujah!
Thank God! Pray to him by name!
    Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
    translate his wonders into music!
Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
    you who seek God. Live a happy life!
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
    be alert for signs of his presence.
Remember the world of wonders he has made,
    his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered—
        O seed of Abraham, his servant,
        O child of Jacob, his chosen.
7-15 He’s God, our God,
    in charge of the whole earth.
And he remembers, remembers his Covenant—
    for a thousand generations he’s been as good as his word.
It’s the Covenant he made with Abraham,
    the same oath he swore to Isaac,
The very statute he established with Jacob,
    the eternal Covenant with Israel,
Namely, “I give you the land.
    Canaan is your hill-country inheritance.”
When they didn’t count for much,
    a mere handful, and strangers at that,
Wandering from country to country,
    drifting from pillar to post,
He permitted no one to abuse them.
    He told kings to keep their hands off:
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my anointed,
    don’t hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets.”
Philippians 3:2-6 Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they’re interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it. We couldn’t carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God’s law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law Book.
7-9 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.
_____________________________