What do
you think? If a shepherd has hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray,
does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one
that went astray?
What do you think dear friends, is it
practical and reasonable that a fellow risks ninety nine sheep for one single
sheep? What if the other ninety nine also go astray one by one? Suppose you were the shepherd and one of your
sheep is lost, will you leave the other ninety nine and go to search the one
that is lost? It may sound unreasonable, but it is true. A shepherd can leave
the other sheep for one and they will not go anywhere. To understand this we
must first make a quick study of the behavior of the seep.
Flocking behavior: The sheep like to be in flock or a big herd.
They find safety in flocking together. If a sheep is separated from other
sheep, the scientists say, there are more chances of that sheep, getting sick
and dying.
Follow the leader: When one sheep moves, the
rest will follow, even if it is not a good idea. The flocking and following
instinct of sheep is so strong that it caused the death of 400 sheep in 2006 in
eastern Turkey. The sheep plunged to their death after one of the sheep tried
to cross a 15-meter deep ravine, and the rest of the flock followed.
That means if a shepherd leaves the other ninety-nine sheep and goes
for searching the one lost, he can be sure that the other ones will go nowhere.
Now there is no doubt that one of the ways of expressing the
relationship of God with his people is that of shepherd and sheep. In the OT
times it was Yahweh and Israel, and NT times it is Jesus and the New Israel. In
John 10:11 Jesus says “I am the Good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his
life for his sheep.” And he did that.
Therefore a good shepherd will never want that
anyone of his sheep is lost, because the sheep may not know the consequences of
being lost. Only the shepherd knows that the sheep cannot survive if it is
cutoff from the shepherd and other sheep. Similarly we may not know the
consequences of going away from God and from each other but God knows. Our sins
not only threaten our relationship with God but also become a hindrance in relating
with others. They become the mountains and valleys in our way to meet God. They
hinder us from experiencing God’s love in our lives and in the lives of others.
Is there anybody here who feels that God
doesn’t love him? Even if we feel so, that is not true. The Truth is that God
loves us unconditionally and doesn’t want even the least of us is lost. There is a true incident about the famous
poet Elizabeth Barrett who became
the wife of Robert Browning; her
parents disowned her because they disapproved of the marriage. Their daughter
Elizabeth, however, wrote almost every week, telling them that she loved them
and longed for reconciliation. After 10 years, she received a huge box in the
mail that contained all the notes she had sent. Not one had been opened!
Although these "love letters" have now become a precious part of
classical English literature, it’s really sad to think that they were never
read by Elizabeth Barrett’s own parents. Had they looked at just one, the
broken relationship with their daughter might have been healed. All of us
are alienated from God because of sin, but God has provided a way of
reconciliation.
God always invites and waits for us to come
to Him. This second week of advent invites us to reflect about the
unconditional love of God towards humanity, towards each one of us. Let us introspect
and see whether we are that lost sheep or among the herd of other ninety-nine
who did not go astray?
