Today’s Scripture Readings

Gospel Reading

NRSV

What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

The words from Matthew bring deep comfort and assurance of love, a personal, individual and unwavering love. We are promised, again and again, throughout scripture that we are loved beyond measure. Here, Jesus shows how deeply we are loved: that the Shepherd would leave ninety-nine to search for one wandering soul who strayed – to search for me. That is how much I am loved. That is how much you are loved.

This image draws me to the beautiful words of Isaiah 40:11: “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”

Today, this is the image I hold in my heart: I am carried in his arms and gently led. In my weariness, in my lost moments, the Shepherd finds me with unwavering determination, love, and compassion.

To each of us, when we are weary or lost, Jesus reveals the truth: that God is searching for you. And when we are steady and among the ninety-nine, know this too: God rejoices in you and invites you to share in God’s heart. God calls us to become those who seek, welcome, and love with the same boundless mercy.

This scripture calls us to rest assured, wholeheartedly, in the truth that we are loved and to receive this love in such a way that it overflows from us. We are called to become its living echo: to go out to the lost, to never give up on anyone, to rejoice in every return, and to love.

This is the way of the Shepherd. May we walk in it.