Daily Reflection
December 9, 2025

The shepherd-sheep relationship appears many times in Scripture to give us an idea of how God loves, cares and provides for us. Think of the 23^rd Psalm, which begins: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Or John 10, where Jesus proclaims: I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me … and I lay down my life for the sheep. So, in today’s Gospel verses, when Jesus talks about the efforts a shepherd will make to retrieve a lost sheep, we know that these words tell us about God’s love, care and provision.

For a long time, this parable did not resonate with me. My problem was that I was distracted by what the Scripture does not mention. For instance, what will happen to the remaining 99 sheep once the shepherd is not there to protect them? A family member who raised livestock pointed out that, in his experience, family members or neighbors usually help out when someone has to be away, so the flock would not have been abandoned. My questions then turned to missing sheep. How long did it take the shepherd to realize it was gone? Why had it left? Did it wander away in search of greener pastures? Had something scared it, causing it to run away? I recall that some injured or ill animals will hide, so was that why the sheep was gone?

I don’t need to have those questions answered. Jesus does not tell us what caused the sheep to become separated or how long it had been missing because it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the missing sheep, out on its own, is in danger. It may be hurting, it may be frightened, it may be lonely. It needs its shepherd. And the shepherd, when he finds the sheep, will (as we read in Isaiah 40) comfort it, gather it lovingly, carry it in his bosom, lead it with care back to where it belongs.

During this time of year, the “Season of Joy” that starts around Thanksgiving (here in the United States) and runs through the Christmas and New Year holidays, it can be easy to forget that many hurting, frightened, and lonely lost “sheep” find this to be one of the most difficult times of the year. Many are struggling with grief, anxiety, loneliness, financial stress, fractured relationships, health concerns, consequences of choices, very real threats of physical danger, and so many other causes of suffering. Some are staying away from family and friends because they are too fragile to face judgement and condemnation they expect will come their way. Because so many of us put on a good face in public, we may not recognize when the person we are talking with is in pain or near a breaking point.

There is a story that has been making the rounds recently – I’ve seen it on the internet and in print form on bulletin boards – about a driver following a car with a sign in the back window: “Learning stick. Sorry for the delay.” The writer was patient but later realized that they might not have been as patient if not for the sign. The story then reminds us that people don’t wear signs to let us know what they are going through, and that most everyone

we encounter has some burden we can’t see. It concludes: “Let’s choose patience. Let’s choose grace. Let’s choose love – even when there’s no sign telling us to.”

We who follow Christ are called to live lives of patience, mercy and love, which may be especially important since we will encounter, often unknowingly, lost “sheep.” We, as members of the body of Christ, have the opportunity, often unknowingly, to act as shepherds who brings God’s love, patience, kindness and compassion. As our Gospel reading tells us, it is not the will of the heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.