ADVENT WEEK 02 02 – Year I
Letting Ourselves be Stretched by God’s Immense Love:
Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas
(Isaiah 40:1-11; Ps 96; Mt 18:12-14)
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In his teaching, Jesus used images he was familiar with, such as shepherds. In the gospel today, he recounts a parable in which he mentions an unlikely scenario – a shepherd leaving 99 sheep in the wilderness to rescue one lost sheep.
A parable is a figure of speech usually presenting some unusual situation that forces the hearer to stop and think, to step out of our usual mindset, to open the hearer to a new, deeper reality or truth. Jesus, in this parable, wants to stretch us and open us up to who our God truly is.
Along that line, Ron Rolheiser OMI, in reference to this passage, posed a question during a presentation: If a shepherd leaves 99 sheep to search out one that strayed, does that mean God love sinners more than righteous people? What do you think?
His answer reveals an invitation for us to not just realize our need for God, but also the depth of God’s love for us.
The answer is that there are no righteous people. Note that the 99 are left on the mountain in this gospel, and in the wilderness in another gospel. They are not safe either. In short, there are no righteous people. We are all, every one of us, in need of God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness, God’s unconditional love, if we are really honest. No one is perfect, no one is sinless, we have all gone astray and we are all in need of God’s love.
Once the shepherd has found the sheep, Matthew has Jesus mentioning another unlikely scenario. The shepherd rejoices over the lost sheep more than over the 99 who did not go astray. What is that about?
This is an important point that St. Luke takes up in three similar parables in his gospel: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the two lost sons. Why would a woman search her whole house with great effort to find a lost dime, and then spend much more than the coin is worth to celebrate finding it?
Why would the father of the prodigal son not only not punish the son who wasted his inheritance, but also give him back his status as a member of the family, and throw a lavish party for him? Does that make any sense?
It does if we understand the mind and loving nature of our God. To the Semitic mind, numbers are important. 100 is a perfect number symbolizing wholeness. 99 is one short of 100, symbolizing incompleteness. God wants God’s kingdom to be complete, inclusive, with everyone God has created in it.
Imagine a mother putting on a family meal at Christmas. All her children are there except for one who has alienated himself from the family. While that mother is happy the rest of her children have come to the celebration, she cannot rest until she hears from that one child who has gone astray. The family is incomplete, her heart cannot fully rejoice, until that child returns, and then she can truly celebrate.
Isaiah in the first reading picks up this theme. God is like a shepherd, calling out to God’s people in the wilderness, comforting them, wanting them to come back, to feed them like a shepherd his flock, to gather them like lambs in God’s arms, to carry them in God’s bosom, and gently lead them like a mother.
All we have to do is to respond to that overwhelming, unconditional love of God by repenting, which is to undergo metanoia (putting on our higher mind). We are invited to humbly let go of our false pride, and allow God’s love to heal us of the valley of our selfishness and stubborn self-will. Then the glory of God will be revealed, and the word of God will stand forever.
J.R. is one such lost sheep. He underwent a conversion experience while in jail, and entered the Church with the help of a chaplain. Upon his release, he joined AA and has five years of sobriety under his belt. Not only that, he has truly done metanoia – “changed his mind, his way of thinking and way of acting.” He is sponsoring 30 other alcoholics, and is spearheading a halfway house project for ex-inmates on their way to treatment. In the end he hopes to become a missionary Oblate priest. Certainly, God our Father is rejoicing over his return, as should we all, for that is how God wants to treat all of us.
Little is known about the early life of Nicholas. In the early 4th century, he was made bishop of Myra in Lycia (now Turkey). Famous for his charity, he became the focus of popular cults and devotions in the early Middle Ages. He was so popular that he was chosen joint patron of Russian with Saint Andrew; he is also a patron of sailors and children. In many parts of the world, he still plays a role as Santa clause.
hat gift is what we celebrate in the Eucharist. The love Jesus showed us on the cross is made present for us in a sacramental way by our prayer and the power of the Spirit of the Risen Jesus.
What an amazing mystery. And it is all made possible through an awareness of our need for God’s immense love, and a genuine spirit of repentance in response to the Word of God.
