Posted by The WORD in other words (2010) by Fr. Dong Alpuerto, SVD, Saint Arnold Janssen Parish, Cebu City
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – C
“I stay away from the church,” this attorney-at-law, one of the town “philosophers,” told me when I stopped on my way to the parish church to greet him. I was back in my hometown from the seminary for vacation.
“But why?” I asked.
“I feel I’m not worthy, I’m a sinner”.
“Then all the more reason you should go to church often,“ I said rather spontaneously. “We sinners need the Savior badly, we should stay close to him.”
He kept silence. I was surprised I could answer him that way at that early stage of my seminary formation.
The way our lawyer was thinking was exactly the way the Pharisees and the scribes had been thinking at the time of Jesus. For in their way of thinking, the sinners and the tax collectors should stay away from Jesus, and Jesus, if he was truly holy, had no business being with the unholy ones, in the same way that they the righteous ones were keeping away from the unholy ones.
But Jesus had business precisely with sinners. If he was Savior, as indeed he was, should he run away from those who needed to be saved? He should in fact run after them!
In this context, then, Jesus paints the lovely picture of a man, a good shepherd, who owns a hundred sheep and goes looking for the one who went astray, leaving the ninety-nine where they are safe. The picture becomes lovelier yet when he finally finds the lost one, puts it on his shoulder and hurries home joyfully, calling his neighbors to rejoice and celebrate with him, for, look, he has found his lost sheep. “In the same way, I tell you,” Jesus concludes, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous ones who have no need of repentance.”
As a matter of fact, Jesus is painting a picture of himself, for isn’t he the good shepherd? (Jn 10:11)
Truly, he was the good shepherd in the story of Zacchaeus’ conversion. Why, he invited himself to his home and so brought about the man’s change of heart! (Lk 19:1-10)
He was the Good Shepherd to the adulterous woman, caught in the very act of committing sin. Her accusers were out to destroy her in her sinfulness, but Jesus was out to liberate her from her sins, just like the man extricating his lost sheep from the brambles and the thistles into which it had fallen. And so, he sent her away only after giving her the gift of forgiveness. (Jn 8:3-11)
He was the Good Shepherd to Peter who had just denied him three times. Just one look from him and Peter was brought back to his senses and to repentance. (Lk 22:61)
He was the Good Shepherd to the good thief who whispered to him what perhaps was the man’s first prayer: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Even up to that most pain-filled moment, Jesus was giving away the gift of forgiveness and the peace of the Kingdom! (Lk 23:39-43)
And so, when the soldiers pierced the side of the Crucified One with a lance, it was as though, unwittingly, he was pointing with the tip of the lance to the very source of Divine Mercy, the Sacred Heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
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