31st Thursday in Ordinary Time

“Rejoice with me because I have found”. This is the refrain which comes time and again in the 15 th chapter of St Luke’s Gospel, in its three parables. It is a chapter that talks of losses and love. In fact, in the first parable, that of the lost sheep, the shepherd lost one sheep out of 100 (i.e., just 1% of his sheep). Even so, he leaves all the other sheep behind, out of love, and goes after the lost one. And when he finds it, he brings it back on his shoulders, full of joy. In the second parable, that of the lost coin, we have a widow who lost one coin out of 10 (i.e, she lost 10% of her money). She, too, makes a thorough cleaning in her house, and when she finds it, she celebrates with her friends, full of joy. In the third parable (that of the
prodigal son – the lost son – which I have not read today), we have a father who lost one of his two sons (i.e., he lost 50% of his children). When he finds that his lost son is well and alive, out of love he kills the fatted calf and makes the biggest feast ever. As we can see, the more we lose, the more God fills our gap with love. The more meaningful the loss, the deeper the joy the person feels. After reading these three parables I realized that there is a fourth parable, not written on the pages of Luke’s Gospel, but in our own hearts. It is the parable of the lost self. In this unwritten parable, each one of us loses not 1%, not 10%, not
even 50%, but 100% of ourselves. And we found our true self again, when God sent to us his only begotten Son, giving 100% of him, out of love, for our salvation. We made a mess of our lives, but God made the Mass for the redemption of our lives, an eternal source of love and joy. May we too make merry, and be glad: for we were dead, and we are now alive again; we were lost, and God found us.