In the Fifteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Saviour speaking to a group of "publicans" and "sinners," as St. Luke reminds us. Here, in this passage that we hear appointed for the Third Sunday after Trinity, Our Lord is relating what it is like to lose something and find it again. In this brief passage that we hear today, Our Lord gives two examples of people that have lost something and are rejoicing that they found the item: the first example is the shepherd that lost one of his sheep; the second is the woman that lost one of her silver coins. Everyone of us can relate to this joyful feeling, I am quite sure. How many of us have "misplaced" something and you do not realize it is "misplaced" until you actually need it and then suddenly "panic" sets in because the certain item that you need is nowhere to be found. After that you spend however long it is until the find what you need. In my house, I refer to it as being "organized into oblivion." Depending on what you are looking for and how important it is will determine how long it is you search for the item. Important papers . . . . books . . . . clothing items . . . . and one item that is always seems to come up missing: the remote control. And then when you find what you are looking for . . . . again, this will depend on the "importance" of what you just found . . . . what happens? You breathe a sigh of relief. When you were searching for the "said item" that was misplaced, how many emotions were involved? Panic? Frustration? Anger? Confusion? "Oh, where is it? I just had it HERE!" But then when you find what you are looking for: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . . ." A sense of relief sets in.
In today's passage, Our Blessed Saviour relates in both examples that when the owners found what they were looking for they wanted to share their joy: "Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost." How many of us share our feelings with those around us? With social media such as FB or Twitter or countless others, it is certainly easy enough to do. How about those of us with cellular phones? Texting out our feelings in just a few "clicks" is the way to go. And when you get down the abbreviations for texting, you can describe your feelings even more quickly. But have you ever noticed that we are quick to describe when we are mad about something? When we have a bad experience, we are quick to tell everyone about it. For example, if we had a bad experience at a restaurant, we might tell the manager; we might fill out a survey card. If we are mad enough, we might make a point to look up the corporate offices and let them know of our experience. We will write scathing reviews and post it on FB and Twitter and anything else. We will tell our friends. We will let the whole wide world know . . . . . via every avenue we can find handy at the time . . . . how truly "horrible" the experience was. But how many times do we have a wonderful experience and we let it go at that. Sure, we may feel satisfied, after a good meal, for example, and we thank the server but then we leave it at that. "Thanks . . . the food was good . . . and your service was great. Thanks." And we leave it at that. But if the same food and the same server was just the opposite: LOUSY! How much time and effort would we have made letting the whole world know. I mean, let's face it, human beings spend more time concerned with "negative things" than we do "positive things." Look at the nightly news, for example, the first twenty minutes of the local broadcasts tell us about: murders. . . . deaths . . . . accidents . . . . shootings . . . crime . . . the price of gas going up . . . . . the Cubs losing again . . . . You get the picture. And then after all of this, they throw in one "feel good" story. Isn't it the same way with us? It would seem that many of us . . . most of us? . . . . are more interested in "negative" stories than we are "positive" ones. "She did what?" "He did what to you????" "Oh, that's horrible." "I can't believe my ears" "Tell me more . . . . ." Perhaps this is because as human beings we just love the things that we shouldn't love. This is why we want to look at the car accident as we pass by. Or why when we are switching the channels and we see people arguing and/or fighting on "Jerry Springer." We pause and watch because we just can not believe our eyes that two grown folks would carry on like that. And we shake our head in disbelief but we keep watching.
Our Blessed Saviour gives us important advice today. He reminds each of us to "rejoice" when we are happy. And to share our joy with others. "Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost." As Christians, we should share this joy with those around us. As Christians, we should share the "Good News" that we are saved. As Christians, we need to take our faith seriously enough to let others know how good God is and what He has done for us. And speaking of telling folks what God has done for us, how many of us are guilty of only talking to the Good Lord when things are bad? When something is wrong, do you go running to God to ask Him to help you? When you are nervous or anxious about something, do you go to God in prayer? How about when things are going smoothly? Do you still run to God and let Him know? How often do we turn to prayer in times of trouble compared to how often we go to God when we simply want to thank Him? Now, I am sure that would make a good comparison. This day, make an effort to rejoice for the blessings God has given you in life. Make it a point to dwell on the good things in life as opposed to dwelling on the negative. As human beings, we have a tendency to dwell on the negative. But as Christians we should dwell on the goodness of God. We should dwell on the good things He has done for us during our lifetime. And we should spend more time in prayer thanking Him instead of simply asking for something.
St. Margaret Church gathers together every Sunday morning and we would love for you to join us in our weekly worship of Our Heavenly Father. Mass begins at 9:30 AM. We celebrate Mass in the Chapel of Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road in Indianapolis, Indiana. Please choose to take some time out of your busy schedule to spend some quality time with God.
No comments:
Post a Comment