Gospel Reading: Luke 15:4 (KJV)
‘What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?’
Reflection on the Gospel
In this verse, Jesus shares the parable of the lost sheep, emphasizing Jesus’ care and concern for those who have gone astray. Jesus shows us that every individual is precious and worth seeking out, no matter how far they have wandered. This passage invites us to reflect on Jesus’ relentless pursuit of the lost sheep and Jesus’ deep desire to bring the lost sheep back into his fold.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I lift up to you all those who have gone astray and turned away from your path. I pray that your love and grace reach them wherever they are. Open their hearts to your presence and guide them back to you. Help me to be a beacon of your love and compassion, offering support and encouragement to those who have lost their way. Thank you for your endless mercy and for never giving up on us. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Personal Reflection
I think about people in my life who have drifted away from their faith. How can I reach out to them with love and understanding? What steps can I take to show all people that they are not alone and that Jesus is always ready to welcome us all back? By living out my faith authentically and offering a listening ear, help me to know that I can help guide others to Jesus.
Meditation on the Prayer and Gospel
The parable of the lost sheep reminds us of Jesus’ unwavering love and Jesus’ commitment to seek out those who have wandered away. Jesus’ words in Luke 15:4 highlight the value of every individual and Jesus’ desire to bring all those who have wandered back into the fold. This call to action invites us to extend our care and concern to those who have lost their way.
As I meditate on this prayer, I recall the moments in my life when I felt lost and Jesus found me. I remember the peace and joy that came with returning to Jesus’ embrace. This reflection inspires me to reach out to others who are struggling, offering them the same hope and comfort that I received.
I think about individuals in my community who have strayed from their faith. I visualize their faces and hold them in my thoughts. I imagine Jesus standing with me, encouraging me to reach out and extend his love and grace. I feel a sense of compassion and determination as I commit to being a source of support for those seeking their way back to Jesus.
Reaching out to those who have gone astray involves patience, empathy, and a willingness to listen without judgment. It means being present for them and offering a safe space for them to express their doubts and struggles. As I practise these principles, May I become a vessel of God’s grace, reflecting Jesus’ love to those in need.
Additional Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for your unending love and your desire to bring the lost back to you. Help me to follow your example and reach out to those who have gone astray. Grant me the wisdom to speak words of encouragement and the patience to listen with an open heart. Fill me with your compassion and understanding, and let your love shine through my actions. Amen.
Closing Scripture Reading: James 5:19-20 (KJV)
‘Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.’
Our Blessing
May the love of Christ fill our hearts and guide our actions. May Jesus’ grace empower us to reach out to those who have gone astray and bring them back into his loving embrace. May we go forth in God’s love, extending hope and compassion to all we meet. Amen.
The fourth commandment, ‘Honour your father and mother,’ instructs Christians to show respect, love, and obedience to their parents. This commandment is important because it reflects the natural order of the family and promotes harmony within the family unit. It is a way for Christians to fulfil their responsibilities and duties as children, and to show gratitude for the love and care that their parents have provided for them [ … ]
Sometimes, when I read my Bible, I pause in the reading and say to myself: ‘This bit’s real.’ It would be fair to say, I have issues with Mary, because, contrary to what we are taught to say, Mary isn’t my mother. Rather: Mum is. One bit of the Bible-text says this: And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, “He is beside himself.” … And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mark 3: 21; 31-35.) Here she comes. She is in considerable distress. I can imagine that. I can relate to that. To save her boy from whatever he’s got himself into this time. And you’re not telling me there isn’t something inside that. Her boy is beside himself. Radical. Radicalized. Radicalizing. A misunderstood word. /ˈradɪk(ə)l/ adjective & noun. 1 Forming the root, basis, or foundation; original, primary. 2a Inherent in the nature of a thing or person; fundamental. b Of action, change, an idea: going to the root or origin; far-reaching, thorough. c Advocating thorough or far-reaching change. d Characterized by departure from tradition; progressive; unorthodox. ‘He has a demon! And he is mad!’ – thus ‘the Jews’. (e.g. John 10: 20.) Come home! It’s all she wants. His family want him back now. But it is an exclusive cult: there is an inside and there is an outside; and on the outside, they are not meant to understand, lest they be converted. He has defined himself as different from anything she was. Only at the end does Jesus say to his Mum – and with savage, bitter irony: ‘Woman, behold your son.’ And then he dies. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. We ask that we might find Mary in our hearts as a Yes! place for Jesus. It is also recommended that we pray to Jesus that we may be further in oneness with Mary. It is self-emptying, such that we only exist insofar as we are responsive to God’s Word. * Last term, and put-out to pasture, the old Archbishop Emeritus came over to stay for a few days and did the odd class with us. He spoke of Yes! as the meaning of Mary’s virginity. And we were not very nice about him. One or two took umbrage. One or two got the hump. In a sense, his Grace, the Arch, basically wanted to move anyone he’d ever known from a high-place – a mountain – received theological ‘truth’ – to an imminent, human plane. Earthing the spiritual. Recalibrating metrics of life’s believability toward a spiritual sense of things. He might have asked the impermissible question: what happened? His Grace described it. God’s love as a cloud. This descended upon Mary – and subsumed her. Within the cloud, Mary capitulated utterly. She became only and purely a response to God’s love. As he spoke, the Arch cradled her. He carried her in his lap – in his hands. His Grace was a consecrated bishop. He was faith. He sat squat, a rounded man, hands cupped and ankles crossed, fingers interlocked, with parted thighs. Rumpled, washed, speckled. A lifetime’s skin… There could be no doubt His Grace spoke through long-term personal relationship with Mary. It was Julian went for him: ‘So are you saying Mary was a Virgin? Or are you not saying Mary was a Virgin?’ Nasty. No, it wasn’t pretty. Julian twisting his silver ring. For a moment, what Julian had said to the Arch simply failed to communicate. No, for a moment, that dumped on the air meant nothing. Then His Grace said: ‘There is a range of possible meanings we may understand in the question of Mary’s virginity. For example, there are understandings of the word virginity entailed in the action of giving birth.’ Julian said: ‘Duh! So had she had sex or hadn’t she?’ Trigger words. No, it wasn’t pretty. On that went for a little while. At length, Julian’s point seemed reluctantly conceded. Then the Arch told us a new story, an additionally human event, the more to baffle us. Controversially, he told us that Mary could not have been Joseph’s first wife, for this would not have been the way of things in the society of that time. His belief was that Joseph must have taken Mary into his household through pity. That would be normal, he said, for Joseph to bring a young, vulnerable girl, who is about to have a baby, within his protection, not meaning to enjoy with her marital relations, but through kindness. ‘And this story of the inn and stable,’ the Archbishop said, ‘it can’t have been like that really. Joseph has travelled with Mary to stay with his family, at home in Bethlehem, and they don’t want Mary in their house, for reasons which I am sure we can understand. It must have been there was considerable resistance to Mary. But Mary gives birth, and who can resist a baby? That’s what happened. It must have been. ‘I’m convinced that must have been how it happened really.’ Later that term, toward the beginning of Advent, we met boys who had been here before, in Valladolid, and now were in regular seminary. They had heard and recited verbatim all the Archbishop had said to them. Their spot-on impressions of each of the fathers were scathing. […]
Immediately following the feeding of the 5000, the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, Jesus tells his disciples to get into a boat, so that they may get away from the multitude, while Jesus himself remains to disperse the multitude, and then to go alone into the hills, to a mountain, to pray [ … ]
