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?
Jesus is not content with good enough. One sheep missing is, for him, one too many. His stated purpose in coming was to seek and to save the lost (see Luke 19:10). When he saw people who seemed like sheep without a shepherd his heart couldn't help but be moved with compassion for them (see Matthew 9:36).
Most of us have experienced being spiritually lost to some degree at some point. Maybe we were even still in sight range of other sheep and yet succumbed to confusion about our purpose and our worth. Hopefully we have all had the experience of being found by Jesus, being embraced by him, and being carried back to his flock. He has a place for us where we can thrive and truly be, as they say, our best selves. Even from within the flock we might be confused if we try to figure out our place and purpose on our own. But Jesus helps us understand who we are meant to be and why. And in doing so he delivers us from our disoriented confusion.
Though most of us have been lost in small ways we may not relate to those utterly absent from the flock that Jesus desires to bring within his fold. Even if we do relate, it may have been some time since we could be described in similar terms. We are mostly more like the ninety-nine who remain behind when he seeks out the one that is missing. Because of this we often take this parable as a teaching to help us appreciate why it is often those who are more distant from the Lord who seem to receive the most obvious signs of his love. It helps us come to terms with his apparent absence in our own lives while he is out in the field loving those most in need. But is Jesus really limited in this way? Does he love us less in order to love the lost more? If he were merely a man we would have to concede that he must. If he were, he would only possess limited power, capacity, and attention to distribute among all the sheep. But the shepherd who feeds his flock is not merely man, but, as Isaiah points out, "the Lord God", the same one who "comes with power" and "who rues by his strong arm". Therefore we must infer that even if it seems from our point of view that the lost sheep receive special attention it is really the case that they are loved differently, in a way that they particularly need, rather than more. Neither, then, are we loved less, for we are safely ensconced within the mountain heights of his Church. It is not really that he is absent in our lives, any more than the father of elder brother was absent from his life in the parable of the prodigal son. It may feel like Jesus is more present to people who are lost. But if we correctly understand the blessings we have been given here at home within his Church, we will recognize that what the father told the elder brother is the same thing God says to us: "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours" (see Luke 15:31).
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.
All of the sheep safely within the flock are worthy of the same joy. But it is especially true that the finding of the lost demands special celebration, as did the return of the prodigal son. We may use the parable of the lost sheep to help us understand our own situation and those of others. It does help us to see those mysteries from God's perspective. But the more important point, perhaps, is to let it teach us to have hearts that are more like that of Jesus, who prioritize seeking the lost, who are committed to mission. We should be like the herald described by Isaiah in our first reading:
Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
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