the 99 have to be left behind: 2nd week advent Tuesday 2011

The one sheep is always a dilemma in life. In today’s gospel the shepherd leaves the ninety nine in search of one lost sheep. He leaves the ninety nine by themselves and goes in search of the one that was lost. The 99 has to wait. The 99 has to be left behind. The 99 has to suffer the anxiety of being left without a shepherd in his effort to look for that one stupid sheep. This is the solution of Jesus and it is a hard act to follow. For in effect Jesus is teaching us that the community or family must always show willingness to suffer for the sake of an individual. That most often the community should be allowed to suffer for the sake of the individual. Think about this for a moment.
This is not the way of the world, isn’t it? For the way of the world is this, the individual is expendable. We stay guard over the ninety nine and treat that one stupid sheep that strayed as a casualty of life, sometimes even a necessary casualty of life. For a fact, this is the way of the business world, this is the hard fact of economics. For progress to be had, it may be necessary in the business world to let go of the stray, in order to preserve the ninety nine, in order for the ninety nine to move on. I remember one other passage in the gospel which says, “Can you not see that it is better for you to have one man die than to have the whole nation destroyed?” a retort from the mouth of Caiphas, the high priest, presenting what he thought was a more logical proposition and a more expedient resolution and action on the problem that is Jesus.


This is the way of the world - the individual is expendable, but this is not the way of Jesus. The 99 has to wait; the 99 has to be left behind; the family, the community, the 99 have to sacrifice and are expected to be willing to suffer for the sake of the one who is lost. The 99 have to suffer because there is the desire to bring the lost back into the fold.
This is difficult in our time with the values that we have, and with the priorities that we share today. Kanya-kanya na lang kita. Bahala ka sa pangabuhi mo. When we solely emphasize individual freedoms we also lost our sense of community. We have become capitalists so to say not just in economics but even in our relationships. Basta indi mo lang ako pagpasilab-tan, basta indi mo lang paggamuhon ang akon kabuhi, paggusto ka sa pangabuhi mo, paggusto ka kon ano ang obrahon mo sa pangabuhi mo. We have no more time to stop, or suffer ourselves to stop in an effort to bring back to the fold one who is lost.
The way of Jesus is different. Every individual is worth the wait, every individual is worth the sacrifice not just of another sheep but even of the whole 99.
The invitation is, can we become a more caring community, a community who is willing to stop and reach out to the lost, leading them back to the fold? Can we become a more caring community or are we just content with the me and my God mentality?
Comfort my people, comfort?, the cry of the angels in our first reading, cry out? But how shall I comfort and what shall I cry out? Isn’t this a call to be a more caring community?