Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

It’s easy to sometimes feel as though we are a bit lost, and perhaps we are
(and I don’t mean when our GPS isn’t working). We can feel this way not
just when we have physically lost our sense of direction, but also when
our spiritual selves have lost our way. In today’s Gospel, this is brought to
our attention, but it is not without a message of great hope, for our Lord
tells us that there is greater joy in heaven for one who has lost their way,
and then been found, than in many who have not strayed.
This is profoundly good news for us, because it happens to pretty much all
of us from time to time. I realize we are not mostly farmers anymore, so
our knowledge of sheep may be a bit limited. However, the illustration of
the lost sheep is incredibly appropriate when sometimes describing us,
because sheep will sometimes wander when they find themselves alone,
but they are also herd animals, and their greatest instinct can be to follow
one another even when this leads them to places, they shouldn’t go. They
are more inclined to follow others, than to assess on their own and make
better choices. Yet the good news is that they have a shepherd who will
help and guide them, just as we do, and should they still happen to go
astray, he will embrace them and bring them home.
Our Lord speaks of what was lost and then found, and the joy in heaven
when that happens. Accordingly, since there are very few of us who have
not lost our way on occasion, our joy should be equally great that we may
have confidence in our acceptance when we return home. We are Gods
prodigal children in the truest sense, and like the son in today’s narrative
in the latter part of the Gospel, we will sometimes see the error of our
ways, and hopefully swallow our pride and return home with great
repentance.
There is one thing about the narrative of the prodigal son though that
often seems to get a bit overlooked, and that is the crucial role that the
older brother plays in conveying the full message. We know that he is
angry at the acceptance that the father shows to the younger brother, even
going so far as to run out to meet him, rather than waiting for him to come
to him. I think this is something that we struggle with as well, because
sometimes we are overcome by our Lords compassion to all and His
willingness to meet others along the way, no matter what they have
done.