What Do You Think?
Isaiah 40:1-11
Matthew 18:12-14
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young. (Isa. 40:11)
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish." (Matt 18:12-14)
Isaiah's promise of God's tender care for people finds fulfillment in Jesus' short teaching story of a shepherd who will not rest from laboring until all the sheep are cared for. Even when 99% of the sheep are safe and well-cared for, the shepherd still seeks the imperiled one.
Jesus begins the story, however, with a cryptic invitation: "What do you think?" He invites us into the story. He wants to know where we stand on these things. "What are your thoughts about this?"
I know some of my thoughts about the story. What about you?
**It's insane, leaving 99 sheep vulnerable in order to find just one.
**Better to sacrifice the one than to put the 99 at risk.
**It's not fiscally responsible. Financially you open yourself up to huge losses.
**This shepherd doesn't have much common sense.
Megan McKenna shares a reflection, written in 1997 by a friend, which illumines the Gospel story in a contemporary way. The United States is in a different place now than in 1997; nevertheless, the same arguments and ideas are still around.
In the ongoing debate about health care and health insurance in our country, one of the sticking points is what to do about those people who have no form of health insurance at all. Some argue that this situation is simply not acceptable. We need, they insist, a program that offers universal coverage, reaching even to the poorest of the poor. Another group argues strongly against this position, asserting that any attempt to provide insurance for everyone will end up bankrupting the system and ruining what we already have. Better to cover as many people as possible and sacrifice those few who slip through the cracks.
It is clear that those in the latter group would not hire the shepherd in today's Gospel as their risk management consultant. His search for the one sheep that has gone astray would be seen as an extravagant gesture, a completely unacceptable risk to the other ninety-nine sheep.
In an era that calculates how much it can afford to do for those at the bottom of the social ladder, the ethic of Jesus must seem extravagant almost to the point of absurdity. Yet it might be a worthwhile Advent exercise for those of us who claim to follow Jesus to picture ourselves explaining this position to him. What would we say? Would we not be forced to acknowledge that the phrase "We can't afford to do this" means that we cannot do it without threatening our own financial and social well-being?
One suspects that he who suffered and died so that all might be saved would not be particularly susceptible to arguments about risk management. Today's Gospel baldly asserts that it is no part of God's plan "that a single one of these little ones shall ever come to grief." The question that confronts us in the middle of this Advent season is this: "Where do we fit into that plan?"
(Megan McKenna, Advent, Christmas and Epiphany: Stories and Reflections on the Daily Readings, pp 58-59)
Jesus asks, "What are your thoughts about this? What do you think?"
For Reflection:
Take any contemporary social issue. Hold it up to this Gospel reading. Hold it up to the life and way of Jesus. Then hear Jesus ask you, "What do you think about this?"
Explain your position to him . . . why something should or should not be done. Are you open to altering your position in light of having to explain your stance to Jesus?
Possible issues for consideration might be:
Immigration
Gun control
Sexual harassment
Racial tensions
Fake news / "alterative facts"
Liberal elites / Basket of deplorables
Poverty
Terrorism
Hunger
Refugees
Salary inequality in the workplace
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