Daily Inspiration

“Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” -Matthew 18:12-14

At some point, most likely more than once, you and I have been the sheep gone astray. Every sin is our walking away from the flock and the safety of the Shepherd, yet the Good Shepherd sets out to find us each time we get lost.

My mind has always pictured Jesus carrying the lost sheep on His shoulders as He brought it back into the fold. Today, as I read this passage, that image was replaced with a new one.

Sin causes the sheep to stray and to be separated from the Shepherd. Now my mind sees not that pristine image, but a more accurate picture. I see Jesus nailing the sins of the lost sheep to His cross, picking up that heavy beam, and placing the Cross on His shoulders as He carries it to Calvary. It isn’t the pretty picture of a man carrying a little lamb. It is the Lamb, beaten and bloodied, offering His back to the lash, scourges, and heavy weight of the Cross to save a man, every time he goes astray.

Saint Juan Diego, pray for us.

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Jesus, I trust in you.