GOSPEL THOUGHTS
*Ordinary Season : Nineteenth Week: Tuesday*
*Gospel : Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14*
*First Reading : Ez 2:8-3:4*
*Responsorial Psalm : 119: 14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131*
*GOD’S MATHEMATICS: 1 = 99*
*1) Human Mathematics vs God’s Mathematics*
Our mathematics often works with numbers: 99 is grater than 1
If one person is lost, we may say: “We still have 99. Why worry so much about one?”
But Jesus asks us to see differently.
For the shepherd: 99 are important + 1 is important = 100 are important.
The shepherd does not say: “I have 99, so I can afford to lose one.”
He says: “One is missing. I must go and look for that one.”
This is the mathematics of God's love.
In God's eyes, the value of a person is not determined by the number of people.
*2) One Lost Sheep Is Not a Small Problem*
The sheep is only one. But for the shepherd, that one represents a relationship.
This is important in our world today.
We often think in terms of: majority and minority, successful and unsuccessful, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, useful and useless, important and unimportant, popular and forgotten.
But Jesus says: “Do not measure a person's value by his or her position among others.”
The one who is forgotten by society is not forgotten by God.
*3) The Mathematics of Personal Dignity*
Imagine a classroom with 40 students. One child is struggling.
The teacher may be tempted to concentrate on the 39 who are doing well.
But the Gospel asks: “What about the one?”
One child who is failing.
One child who is lonely.
One child who is bullied.
One child who is afraid.
One child whose parents are separated.
One child who has lost confidence.
For that child, the teacher's attention may change everything.
The 1 matters because every 1 has a name, a story and a dignity.
*4) God Does Not Love Us as a Crowd Only*
We often think: “God loves humanity.”
That is true. But Jesus makes God's love personal.
God does not merely love the crowd.
God loves me.
God knows: my name, my wounds, my failures, my fears, my struggles, my hopes.
The shepherd does not only say: “One sheep is missing.”
He goes looking for that particular sheep.
Therefore: Christianity is not only about belonging to a community; it is also about being personally known and loved by God.
*5) Why Leave the 99?*
This is perhaps the most challenging part of the parable.
Why leave the 99?
Because the lost one is in danger. The shepherd's love is not merely sentimental.
It becomes action. He searches. He walks. He risks. He persists.
He does not simply say: “I hope the sheep comes back.” He goes after it.
Love becomes real when it searches for the one who is lost.
This is a powerful challenge for the Church, families, schools and society.
*6) God’s Mathematics Is the Mathematics of Mercy*
The lost sheep may have wandered because of: foolishness, weakness, temptation, confusion, fear, bad choices, wounds, loneliness.
But the shepherd's first response is not: “How could you do this?”
His response is: “Where are you?”
This is the difference between judgment and mercy.
Human mathematics may say: “You made a mistake; now suffer the consequences.”
God's mathematics says: “You have fallen; let me help you rise.”
This does not mean that wrongdoing does not matter. It means that the person is never reduced to his or her mistake.
*7) The Present-Day Mathematics of 1 vs 99*
Look around our society.
*One elderly person*. In a world focused on youth, one elderly person may feel forgotten. God says: That one matters.
*One poor family* When thousands are prospering, one poor family may seem insignificant. God says: That one matters.
*One migrant* When society speaks about large populations, one migrant can become invisible. God says: That one matters.
*One prisoner* Society may define a person by his crime. God says: That person still has dignity.
*One sick person* When everyone else is healthy, one person's suffering can be overlooked. God says: Go to that person.
*One abandoned child* One child without love can easily become a statistic. God says: That child has a name.
*One person who has stopped coming to Church* We may say: “There are still many people coming.” Jesus asks: “Where is the one who is missing?”
*8) The 1 Can Become Our Mission*
Every parish can ask: Who is our “one”?
*Perhaps:*
the family that has stopped coming to Church,
the young person who has lost faith,
the elderly person living alone,
the person struggling with loneliness,
the poor family nobody visits,
the person who feels rejected,
someone who has been hurt by the Church,
someone who feels that nobody cares.
The Gospel challenges us: Do not merely count those who are present. Look for those who are absent. That is God's mathematics.
*9) The 99 Also Need the Shepherd*
There is another important dimension. Jesus does not say that the 99 are unimportant. They also belong to the shepherd.
The point is not: “1 is important and 99 are unimportant.”
Rather: “The love given to the one does not diminish the love given to the ninety-nine.” God's love is not a limited resource.
In human thinking: “If I give attention to one, I have less attention for the others.” But God's love can embrace all.
The shepherd returns with the one, and the whole flock becomes complete again.
*10) God’s Mathematics Is Not Addition but Restoration*
The shepherd's goal is not to have: 99 + 1 = 100, simply as a mathematical calculation.
His goal is: “Let what was lost be found.”
The Gospel is about restoration. The lost sheep returns.
The broken relationship can be healed.
The sinner can repent.
The discouraged person can find hope.
The isolated person can find community.
The wounded person can experience compassion.
Therefore: God's mathematics is the mathematics of restoration.
*11) What Is My “One”?*
This parable can also become deeply personal.
Perhaps there is one person I have written off.
Someone I don't want to speak to.
Someone who hurt me.
Someone I have judged.
Someone I have stopped forgiving.
Someone I have forgotten.
Jesus asks:
“Can you go in search of your one?”
Maybe your “one” is not a stranger.
Maybe it is someone sitting inside your own family.
A husband may have lost connection with his wife.
A parent may have lost connection with a child.
A brother may no longer speak to his sister.
A friend may have disappeared from our life.
Perhaps the Gospel is asking us to go in search of one relationship that has been lost.
*Think about it*
*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*
*Fr Maxim DSouza*
*Jeppu Seminary*
*Mangalore*
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