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?
Perhaps some who were literally shepherds would in fact seek after the one who went astray, knowing that his sheep were his entire livelihood. But those called to be the shepherds of Israel, in roles of religious leadership, seemed to be content with the ninety-nine. Even when they appeared to be seeking the lost it was more in pretense than in reality Although the Pharisees would travel land and sea to make converts (see Matthew 23:15) this really put those who did listen to them in a worse position than ever before, for even actions like these were not those of sincere shepherds, but actions of those who wanted show off. Such Pharisees as made these converts seemed to see each one as a personal victory and conquest.
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
We often see scenes in the Gospels where Jesus reaches out to those sheep who were lost. In many of these scenes we see that the Pharisees are not merely indifferent or ignorant, but openly hostile to these sheep. These lost ones whom the Pharisees could do without are the sick whom Jesus heals on the Sabbath, the sinners whom he calls to follow him, and many others. The mission of Jesus seems to be especially oriented toward those on the peripheries. Those sheep who imagine themselves to be safe and comfortable already are certainly welcome, but often are themselves too complacent to make significant change. Yet there is no safety for any sheep unless they are under the care of the Good Shepherd. Only he has their best interests at heart and sees their good as his own, just as a shepherd might regard his sheep as his entire livelihood. The only hills were sheep can rest secure are the hills of his Church.
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
It is not that Jesus does not love the ninety-nine, but rather that he rejoices that this sheep that his been brought back has allowed himself to be specially loved by Jesus. The ninety-nine might feel that they don't stand in need of this special love and so not be open to it, even though Jesus desires to love each one beyond what they could ask or imagine.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.
If we can come to identify a bit more with the one who is lost and in need of Jesus two things happen as a consequence. The first is that we ourselves become more open to his love and even desperate to receive it. The second is that we become more concerned for the mission, more concerned to help Jesus to seek out others who stand in the same need of him as we do, with whom we can then have complete sympathy.
We can't bring anyone into the safety of the flock on our own, not even ourselves. But we can cry out to the shepherd as he comes, saying, "Here we are, Lord! Save us!"
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
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.
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