November 05, 2015
Thursday
31st Week in Ordinary Time
1st reading:
Romans 14.7-12
Gospel: Luke 15:1-10
Tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what he had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable: “Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and seek out the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbors together and say: ‘Celebrate with me for I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, just so, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine upright who do not need to repent.
“What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp and sweep the house in a thorough search till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say: ‘Celebrate with me for I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
The degree of pain which severance of relationship inflicts depends on the degree of love involved. Jesus asked: “Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and seek out the lost one till he finds it?” At the heart of today’s Gospel message is God’s preferential love for sinners. God is like a passionate shepherd who risks abandoning the 99 in his ardent desire to find one lost sheep. If given his way he will leave no stone unturned in his search for the lost one. The only factor that can deter him from this passionate search is the exercise of freedom by the lost ward.
When in freedom we choose the life of sin, God will leave us where we are. In a game of hide and seek with the Shepherd, that Shepherd is helpless because his great respect for human freedom will bind him. If you are playing this game with God, the time to throw in the towel has come. While God will always welcome us back, life is short. When death snaps for good that umbilical cord that links us to the Source of Life, God will mourn the loss because the severance of relationship will inflict so much pain upon him owing to his great love for sinners. The sad news is that we are at the losing end because it is our salvation that is at stake. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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