Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
When I was about twelve or thirteen years old, I lost my pet rabbit, Penelope. I went to feed her in her hutch out back and found the door broken and Penelope missing. I loved that rabbit, and I was very worried and upset. There were some woods near our house and I feared the worst for her. I went out looking for her and calling her, and I got my parents’ help, especially when the sun began to set. My Dad and I took a flashlight and looked some more. We didn’t find her that night or the next, or the weeks after that I kept looking for her. I cried myself to sleep many a night, worried about her out in the cold and dark, lost and afraid, maybe even hurt or worse. My parents offered to get me another bunny, but of course I didn’t want another one; I wanted Penelope.
I was reminded of this story by today’s gospel passage (Luke 15: 1-10) that includes the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin. Jesus addresses the Pharisees and Scribes with these parables as they complain that Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them.”(vs.2b) These two parables speak of God’s love for us, especially the repentant sinner, and God’s persistent seeking for the “lost” ones with great rejoicing when they have been “found.”
As I reflect on these parables, I think about how we are sometimes like the lost sheep or my lost pet rabbit. How did it get lost? How do we “get lost” from God? Do we become too prideful and arrogant, thinking we can do it all on our own, denying that we really do need God in our lives? Or do we get distracted by less important but seductive things that draw our attention away from God, like mindless entertainment or any number of addictions? Or maybe we start listening to another voice, such as our own ego or the call in our culture to attain power, wealth, beauty, popularity and status. Or maybe, like a sheep wandering from the flock, it happens gradually without our even realizing it at first, and now we have come to realize that we are lost – we have not only separated ourselves from God, but from our family or other community as well.
Perhaps we liked the newfound “freedom” of being out on our own at first, but now night has come, there is a darkness in our life, and we’re starting to feel afraid and alone. Perhaps we have come to realize that the other voice we were following doesn’t lead anywhere good, in fact it can lead to destructive and dangerous places where we don’t feel “free” at all. Or perhaps we’ve been hiding, afraid that God will be angry with us for wandering away.
God is looking for us; God is calling us. Are we quiet enough to hear God’s voice? Do we hear God’s voice and ignore it? Or do we respond and let the Holy One embrace us close and welcome us back?
I wish my story about Penelope had a happier ending. I never did find her, and I did eventually give up looking. But the good news is that God never stops looking for us, and I pray today that we can also seek God or at least stop and listen for God’s call/ God’s voice long enough to hear that voice and let God find us. For as today’s gospel reminds us, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”(vs.7)
- Eileen Miller