Whom do you live for? Generally most, if they are absolutely honest would say, ”I live for myself of course who else is going to take care of me?” Many who are a little more altruistic would say, ”I live for family!” What about you? What would you say?
There is nothing wrong with saying any of all that has been mentioned above, for it only means the Lord our God has not found you yet! Not to say He has not been searching for you day and night yearning and hoping that you would been found. He is patiently waiting for you, to WANT to be found! To call out to Him so that He can come running to you, to tend and heal you; to hold you close to His bosom as He carries you home. And even when you literally cannot call out to Him, still He comes swiftly to your aid. Such is our loving and merciful God.
When we open our hearts completely to Him, He transforms us from within. Our hearts filled with His love expands to quadruple its size. We begin to see others through His eyes and love them with His love. And indeed our lives become such that if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Our mission becomes clear that we are to lead our errant and lost brothers and sisters back to Him with patience and great love. For He wills that we all be saved from death to live life with Him eternally.
Anyone who has ever lost a child under their care knows the anguish and pain it brings. The panicky feeling and the dread that something terrible might befall the child. The empty void in our heart that pines for and yearns to be filled by the finding of the child. Can you even fathom how much more it must be for the Lord our God who loves us all completely? How great the pain if it be a hundrefold?! Now recall the utter and sheer joy when you found the child! The rejoicing and the need to celebrate! We can therefore embrace more fully what Jesus means when He says, ”In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’’ Amen
Glory and praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!
First reading
Romans 14:7-12 ·
Each of us must give an account of himself to God
The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life: it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. This is also why you should never pass judgement on a brother or treat him with contempt, as some of you have done. We shall all have to stand before the judgement seat of God; as scripture says: By my life – it is the Lord who speaks – every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall praise God. It is to God, therefore, that each of us must give an account of himself.
Gospel
Luke 15:1-10
There will be rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.
‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’
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