Saturday of the First Week of Advent
As we near the second Sunday of Advent, there is an important question we need to ask ourselves, have we gone out to the lost sheep? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his apostles to go out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. These were those who had been lost because of war, sin, manipulation by bad shepherds, or tragedy. They were to go find them and heal them.
The question for us is, who are those lost sheep in our lives? All of us have friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances that we know who are hurting. Sometimes we are the cause of that hurt. It is those who I wish us to be challenged by, those who are lost because of us.
It is never easy to admit we have done serious harm to others, but we have. It is our responsibility, as best as we can, to heal those relationships. It might be finally letting go of our pride and admitting our wrongs, and saying sorry. It might be reaching out, even after years, to simply say, “I love you.” It might be opening up to your own hurts and pains and allowing yourself to receive help. You know exactly what needs to be done.
Take that jump to repair lost relationships. Have faith and hope that God can heal all things. Hear Christ speaking to you, “Go to the lost sheep!”
Reflection by Fr. Etienne Huard, OSB
Posted in Articles for Advent, Daily Reflections