Tuesday of the 19th week in Ordinary Time

The Joy of Being Found

In today’s Gospel from Matthew 18:1-14, Our Lord gives us a tender and profound image of Himself: the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep on the hills in search of the one who has gone astray. This is not merely a parable about a lost sheep—it is divine revelation about the heart of God. It reveals a love so determined, so personal, that it refuses to rest until the lost are found.

How easy it is to go astray. We live in a world that constantly pulls us away from the path of God. There are the temptations of the flesh, the attractions of wealth, the pride of ego, anger, self-indulgence, distractions, and spiritual confusion. But today’s Gospel invites us not to dwell solely on the wandering, but to fix our gaze on the One who searches. God seeks the lost not with frustration, but with love. He does not stand at a distance waiting for the sinner to grovel back—He goes out on the journey, climbs the rugged path, and carries the sinner home.

St. Gregory the Great offers us a beautiful reflection on this Gospel. He says, ‘He who is Wisdom itself did not disdain to descend from Heaven in search of the foolish one… It was out of love, not necessity, that He came. In seeking us, He sought only to show us how great His mercy could be.’ This is the heart of our faith—that God seeks us not because He needs us, but because He loves us. He rejoices far more over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who never strayed.

When we stray from God, we may try to fill the emptiness of our hearts with other things. We chase after distractions, success, pleasures, approval, even busyness. But none of them satisfy. St. Gregory reminds us that our Shepherd does not abandon us to this emptiness. He comes even into our confusion, even into our shame. He does not hesitate to carry our weakness on His shoulders.

One of the biggest barriers to returning to God is pride. It is hard to admit that we were wrong, hard to confess our sins, hard to accept the pain of failure. But, as painful as that humility may feel, it is far better than the burden of guilt we carry on our own. St. Gregory also says, ‘The shoulders of the Shepherd are the arms of the Cross.’ When Christ carries us back, He doesn’t do so from a pedestal, but from the sacrifice of love at Calvary.

Confession, repentance, and humility are, in the end, not moments of humiliation but of liberation. The sinful soul that turns back is not greeted with condemnation but with joy. This is what Jesus wants us to understand: The Shepherd rejoices. What a marvelous thing! Not only is the sinner forgiven, but Heaven itself rejoices.

Let this Gospel speak to your heart today. If you have strayed, walk no further from the Shepherd who searches for you. Let Him find you. Let Him carry you. And if you are still among the ninety-nine, then imitate the love of the Shepherd. Look around at the lost in your own life—with compassion, not judgment. Reach out. Be an instrument of God’s seeking love.

Let us each examine our hearts today. Where have we strayed? What are we clinging to rather than Christ? Let go. Come home. The Shepherd waits. And when we return, we do not come crawling, but are lifted—lifted by the very One who gave His life to carry us back from death to life.