Thursday after Misericordias Domini Sunday
Posted on April 18, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 18:10-14 (NKJV)
18:10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
Devotion
This image of the Good Shepherd seeking out the one that strays from the ninety-nine is about God’s love. However, it is not about validating the expectations of the one who foolishly wanders off in sin. Sometimes people test God (and His servants) by thinking they can walk in some reckless, undisciplined way, and then expect the Lord’s mercy to follow them and fix the mess according to their assumptions.
Our Lord promises to love us and take care of us, but He will do it on His terms, not ours! There are plenty of other illustrations and warnings in Scripture that tell us we should stay with His flock, walk in the ways of righteousness, follow Him, and seek to be where He is. He also teaches us that His will is always good and wise. When we selfishly wander off in our sin, we do not have the right to take God’s Words of love and dictate back to Him how it should play out on our terms.
His lambs hear His voice, abide in the pastures of His Church, and feed on His Word and Sacraments. When we sin, His Spirit calls us back with repentance and absolution. But the Good Shepherd blesses us and keeps us according to His holy will, not ours.
Collect: God, Who, by the humiliation of Thy Son, didst raise up the fallen world: Grant unto Thy faithful ones perpetual gladness, and those whom Thou hast delivered from the danger of everlasting death, do Thou make partakers of eternal joys; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
