I have found my lost sheep

7 JUNE (Lk 15,3-7)

Today, Jesus is preached, presented as the Good Shepherd. God is the Good Shepherd, the Shepherd of his flock. The Psalm sings this truth with a lot of emphasis.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever (Psalm 23 (22) 1-6).

To the Lord, to the Shepherd of Israel, one asks for help, rescue, protection and defense. All life is from him. Without Him one is already in death, in the spiritual, material, physical grave.

Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power And come to save us! O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, And You have made them to drink tears in large measure. You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves.

O God of hosts, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. You removed a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground before it, And it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shadow, And the cedars of God with its boughs. It was sending out its branches to the sea And its shoots to the River. Why have You broken down its hedges, So that all who pass that way pick its fruit? A boar from the forest eats it away And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted, And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Then we shall not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. O LORD God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved (Psalm 80 (79), 1-20).

However, God needs human, visible shepherds, always present in the lives of his people. Unfortunately, these pastors almost always have failed in their mission. In this failure, God decides to make himself visible shepherd. He makes himself in his Only Son. He becomes flesh and in the flesh he is constituted the Good Shepherd of all the sheep of his Father.

So to them he addressed this parable. “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.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Shepherd of our souls comes, reveals by word and deed all the divine charity and faithfulness of the Father, delivers all his life to this ministry, sealing his love with the blood on the cross. The Gospel is the Book of mercy, piety, compassion, truth, the gift of himself and obedience to the Father, that Jesus lives for the sake of the flock. He spared himself in nothing. He even gave his body as food and his blood in drink of eternal life. Now every other pastor in Him, through Him, with Him knows how to shepherd the flock of God: consecrating all his life, with an obedience unto death on the cross, to the Lord for the salvation of his flock. Jesus is the only model of how to carry out the ministry of Pastor. No man must be a model for another man. Jesus did not resign his office or ministry. In order to obey to the Father he made a prayer of sweat of blood. He overcame temptation.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints help us imitate Jesus Christ.