Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lost And Found
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. As a Jew, Paul could be proud of many things: born as a member of the chosen people and circumcised; as a Pharisee, secure in the strict observance of the Law… Yet all these had proven to be not advantages but obstacles to encountering Christ: instead, they had made him a persecutor of Christ; the Law had made him a prisoner of the Law rather than a servant of God. And now he is happy that, by the grace of God, he has discovered the foolishness of the cross. God has found him; Christ has become his riches, and everything else doesn’t matter.
Gospel. Luke 15 tells of people who lose something and find it again: a man finds a lost sheep, a woman a coin, and a father his son. All are extremely happy at the end, except the brother of the lost son. This joy shows Jesus’ attention to all that is lost, rejected, and devalued in people’s eyes. Like Jesus, we must keep looking for these people and rejoice when they return to God and to people.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
we know that Jesus came for everybody,
yet he wanted to find back
the very one given up by people:
the tax collector, the sinner, the prodigal.
Do not allow us in our zeal for what is right and good
to lose sight of this one person
who was written off by people,
yet who merited the special concern of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
For we are the true circumcised, who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus—not in ourselves.
I, myself, do not lack those human qualities in which people have confidence. If some of them seem to be credited with such qualities, how much more am I!
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I was born of the race of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin; I am a Hebrew, born of Hebrews. Concerning the law, I am a Pharisee,
and my zeal for the law was so strong that I persecuted the Church. As for being righteous according to the law, I was blameless.
But once I found Christ, all those things that I might have considered profit, I now see as a loss.
More than that, everything seems to me as nothing compared to the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have let everything fall away, and I now consider all as garbage, if I may gain Christ in return.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3b) Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Meanwhile, tax collectors and sinners were seeking Jesus’ company, all eager to hear what he had to say.
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law frowned at this, muttering:
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus told them this parable:
“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and seek the lost one until he finds it?
And when he finds it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders?
Then he will call his friends and neighbors together and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’
I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine decent people who do not need to repent.
What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, would not light a lamp and sweep the house thoroughly until she finds the lost coin?
And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found the silver coin I lost!’
I tell you, in the same way, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That leaders of the Church and of society may not lose themselves in chasing after power, prestige and wealth, we pray:
– That the Lord may give to his Church shepherds who care very much about people who go astray and try to bring them back to the Lord, we pray:
– That in our communities we support one another in trying to live the life of Christ, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
let your bread and wine remind us
of our solidarity even with all those
who live on the fringes of society.
You love them and they are part of us
May we speak to them the encouraging word
for which they are waiting
May we too look for them and love them
with our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord forever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
your kingdom is not the private domain
of those you have given the grace
to find you and to believe in you.
May we care with you and search with you
for the weak, the embarrassed and the timid,
without any attitude of superiority or condescension
Help us to be a community
in which there is enough space for everyone
for human growth and dignity for all.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
God looked for us and found us because he loved us long before we knew it. We know he loves all and wants all to belong to his kingdom. May we help anyone to find the Lord, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
The God Who Goes Searching
Gospel: Luke 15:1-10
Golden Verse: "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." (Luke 15:7)
The Pharisees and scribes grumble: "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Jesus replies with two short parables: a shepherd searching for a lost sheep, and a woman searching for a lost coin.
Barclay brings these stories to life. Judaean shepherds worked on dangerous, barren hills, and "there was not a shepherd for whom it was not all in the day's work to risk his life for his sheep." The woman's silver coin was "more than a whole day's wage" for a labourer. It may even have come from her head-dress of ten coins, "almost the equivalent of her wedding ring." She sweeps her dark, windowless house with reeds on the floor, hoping to "see the coin glint or hear it tinkle" (Barclay on Luke 15).
The point of both parables is the joy of finding. "God is as glad when a lost sinner is found as a shepherd is when a strayed sheep is brought home," Barclay notes what was so new in Jesus' teaching: God does not simply wait for sinners to crawl back. "He actually searched for men" (Barclay).
This changes how we see ourselves when we fail. God is not waiting with folded arms. He is already out on the hillside, lamp in hand, looking for us. It also changes how we see others. The ones we find difficult to welcome are the very ones heaven longs to celebrate.
To reflect on: Do I share God's joy when someone comes back, or do I grumble like the Pharisees?
Prayer: Good Shepherd, thank you for seeking me when I wander. Give me a heart that rejoices over every sinner who comes home, beginning with myself. Amen.