A Seeking God

 “Which one of you, 

having a hundred sheep

 and losing one of them, 

does not leave the ninety-nine 

in the wilderness and go after 

the one that is lost until he finds it?"

(from Lk. 15:1-10)

In the days of my youth, I was a counselor in a boy's camp located on the beautiful shores of Lake Seymour, Vermont.

The campers bedding included flannel sheets and two woolen blankets due to the cool evening weather.

It was a hot summer night and the campers were sleeping. 

During bed-check, two campers seemed tucked under wool blankets. The other counselor and I pulled off the blankets to find no campers.

We began anxiously searching wondering what trouble they managed to get themselves into.

We found the them skinny dipping at the camp's overnight campsite totally unaware of the dangers of swimming in the dark. 

The lost were found.

Jesus, however, is telling this parable with a much deeper meaning.

Jesus is talking about the depth of God’s love. 

Searching for lost sheep was dangerous in the hilly Judean mountainside was a dangerous undertaking.

There was little hope of finding it dead or alive because of predators such as leopards, jackals, hyenas or foxes.

Yet against all odds, the shepherd finds it alive, shoulders it, and brings it home to the rest of the flock.

Jesus' story is a reminder to us that God’s love is so great God will search tirelessly in the rocks and crannies of life to bring us home.