St. Joseph of the Lakes

Over the course of years I have found the first reading this Sunday to be very curious. As God grows angry with the Israelites because they have begun worshipping a god of their own making, He threatens to wipe them out and to start over with Moses’ children. Moses becomes the savior of Israel, as he talks God down from his threat. To think, human beings need a savior from God! This certainly enhances the image of Moses but it obscures God’s image. God is no longer a friend of the Israelites, rescuing them from their Egyptian slavery, but instead he becomes a great threat ready to punish them for their misbehavior.

Jesus comes to correct this misperception. Today he speaks of the rejoicing that takes place as the lost are found. He is in some sense over the top as he describes what the shepherd who has 100 sheep and loses one will do when he discovers he is missing the one. He leaves behind the ninety nine to find the missing one. He is putting his entire livelihood at stake for the sake of the lost one. This is Jesus’ description of God’s kingdom. This is directly opposite of Moses saving the people from God’s wrath. Jesus tells us that God will go out of His way to rescue one of us little ones. Ultimately the death of Jesus proves this out as Jesus is willing to lay down his life to rescue all of us sinners. It is never about us living up to God’s expectations (this is what Moses represents) but instead it is about God rescuing us from our frailty. God goes out of His way to find the lost sheep and the missing coin. Jesus seems to be telling us that God does not blame the lost one, instead he recognizes the lost and He does the work to find them.