Today's Good News Reflection

Who are the lost sheep in your life? Today's Gospel reading assures us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and he will not quit going after them. However, he won't be able to reach them until (1) they're ready to be found, and (2) he has our hands and feet and voice through which to minister to them.

Sometimes the lost have to experience a very troubling hardship from which they cannot recover by themselves. Even while demonic forces are using misconceptions, hurts, and false theologies to keep them from recognizing their need for Christ, this is nothing to fear. Jesus is pursuing them, seeking out any openness they have toward him, waiting at their side for them to ask for his help, and preparing one (or more) of us to step in to help them turn to the healing love of Jesus.

Meanwhile, we can help this along by praying for them and by being a good example of what it's like to belong to the Good Shepherd's flock. Never mind how dark and hopeless it looks. The holy light of Christ has already infiltrated Satan's darkness.

Consider the power of light. Imagine two adjoining rooms, one in total darkness and the other lit brightly by a lamp. If you were to poke a hole in the wall that divides these two rooms, will darkness flow through the hole into the lit room or will light pour into the dark room? See, the power of light is completely stronger than the power of darkness! This is the power of Christ. This is what we are called to give birth to by the way we live our lives and reveal Jesus as the source of our faith.

I've seen it happen. Back in the year 2000, a dear family member was sucked deeper and deeper into the world of darkness by getting involved in vampire role playing games. Many prayed for her, and we enlisted the help of the Blessed Mother, the girl's Confirmation Saint, and other Saints.

During Advent, the problems worsened, but on Christmas Eve, Jesus drilled a hole in the wall that had been dividing the family. God's light penetrated into her darkness, and by the following year, she became a shining light that drew others to Christ -- and she still is.

It can take years for some of those who live in darkness to realize that they're in a bad place. Today's first reading gives us a dose of God's comfort. Consider how these verses can give you strength, endurance, courage, and hope.

Use this scripture to recommit yourself to "making straight in the wasteland a highway for God" by choosing to love the lost sheep unconditionally; treating them the way Jesus would (which sometimes includes tough love and boundaries set firmly to keep their sins from causing more harm). In this way, you will give Jesus to them whether they realize it or not.

Pray daily for Christ's holy light to spread into their lives through many and various holes that get poked into their self-made prisons.

Ask the Holy Spirit to transform you into a better lamp that shines brighter with Christ's holiness and healing love. Ask the Blessed Mother to help you give birth to Jesus in their lives through the way you behave around them. And trust that the Good Shepherd is doing more to rescue them than what you can see.