10 December 2019 - in his arms he gathers the lambs

Today's Readings

(Audio)

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?

No, we think to ourselves. No they wouldn't. They'd leave well enough alone. Even if the hills afforded some protection for the sheep they wouldn't take a risk just for the sake of only one in one hundred. But the heart of Jesus is different. He refuses to be content with good enough or almost when even one of these little ones is still lost. He has such compassion for any sheep that is lost that there can't be perfect peace for all until that one is found.

Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

This compassion for the one should give the ninety-nine great confidence. Even if we ourselves are lost in the future, even if we should wander, Jesus will seek us out. He does not begrudge the sheep that it wanders. It even seems to get special treatment. It is gathered in his arms and carried home. Let those who have not strayed not begrudge that sheep the love he receives. It is that very same love with which he loves them. If we ourselves are the elder brother of the prodigal we know that all that the Father has, has safety, his love, and his peace, have been ours all along. 

The LORD is coming to restore us. He comes with "his reward with him, his recompense before him." What does he bring? He brings "the word of our God [which] stands forever." This word is the safety of the sheep. Is the entering of the eternal and unchanging into the world of time. Jesus says that he has come to seek and save the lost. This is now, with the coming of the messiah, the manifestation of this eternal word in time. It is this saving heart itself that is that word. It is a heart which is unchanging and unrelenting in its love for the sheep.

Let us "prepare the way of the LORD" in our own hearts. Let us not force him to spend time wandering and seeking us. Let us rather run and hearken to the sound of his voice for we are his sheep and we know the sound of that voice. We are the lost who sense that we are about to be found. Let us run toward the sound of that voice!

They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.