By Amalraj A, CSC –
Readings: Is 40: 1-11; Mt 18: 12-14 –
If I take out one rupee from one hundred rupees, it doesn’t make much difference, yet it lacks the completeness. The sheep that is lost in the wilderness has to be brought back for the herd to be complete. In the eyes of shepherd each sheep is important and he cannot let any one go astray. He is ready to go to any extent to get back the lost one.
We human beings have the freedom to choose what we want to do. Even for the Lord to come in to our life we need to let him come in. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20). The Lord needs our permission to enter into our life and work wonders. With all the technology around us, it is very hard to hear the voice of the Lord. And that itself is an indication that we are away from the lord. That is when we need to seek for spiritual help to listen to the Lord’s voice, and open the door of our heart.
In my life there were lots of times I found myself lost in the world and got diverted. At all those moments there was someone directing me where to go. The liturgy of the Word invites me to listen to the voice of the Lord that is crying out for me in the wilderness and go back to him, so that he might send me as a voice to those who still have not heard his voice. There is a great joy among us when someone who recovers from dangerous sickness or from a dangerous accident. The celebration that takes place in heaven among saints over a repentant sinner is much more than any of these celebrations.