THE LOST SHEEP

Once a man noticed another man having a banana in his ear. So he said, “hi… you have a banana in your ear”. The man didn’t hear. So he raised his voice and said, “Hi… you have a banana in your ear” Then the man turned and said, “please speak louder, I have a banana in my ear”.
Once in a famous restaurant in Toronto… Joke.
In today’s gospel , we meet with Jesus who is full of compassion and kind, we meet with Jesus who is full of love and merciful. Yes, we meet with Jesus who finds himself among the sinners , rejected, outcasts and unwanted.
1.Once two people were asked to recite the Psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want…” The first man who was a powerful orator got up and recited the whole Psalm, and then everyone stood up and clapped their hands and cheered for him. Then the other man got up and repeated the same words saying, “The Lord is my Shepherd and there is nothing I shall want”. And this time, no one cheered and they were all sitting quietly in a devotional and prayerful mood. Then the orator got up and said, “I have a confession to make, “you should know the difference between this old man and I, “I only know the Psalm and this man knows the Shepherd”.
When we get closer to Jesus our Shepherd, then we will come to know how much He loves us , though we are weak and sinful. He came to save and give life to those who went away from the love and kindness of God our father.
2. One day a sheep saw a hole in the fence and he escaped through the hole. He wandered far and forgot his way back. Then he realized that he was being chased by a wolf. He ran and ran but the wolf was kept following him until the shepherd came and rescued him. Then he carried the sheep to the fold. After that his friends, family members and others came to him and asked to nail up the fence but he never did.
This is our Shepherd… Good shepherd who give us freedom and free will to choose between good and bad and between right and wrong. When we go away from Him and fall into sin, He recognizes our weaknesses saying, “I came for the one sheep that was lost”.
For our Lord Jesus Christ, the lost sheep is also a good sheep. He never dislikes the sinner but only the sin. Let us use our wisdom and knowledge; our freedom and free will to get closer to God our Father through our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, Amen.