June 8, 2022 – Words of Wisdom, Pope Francis

Where Are the 99?

“A church that limits itself to just carrying out administrative duties, caring for its tiny flock, is a church that in the long run will get sick. The pastor who isolates himself is not a true pastor of sheep, but a ‘hairdresser’ for sheep who spends his time putting curlers on them instead of going to look for others.  Today we have one in the pen and 99 we need to go looking for.” Pope Francis

“So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Luke 15:3-7

Where Are the 99?

Pope Francis has a legitimate point about the pastor who isolates himself from evangelizing the unchurched and the de-churched. But it is not just the pastor’s responsibility for seeking out the lost sheep. A church that is in the streets of its community seeking the lost, healing the sick, and sharing the good news is a church that has real health – and is a church that will be rich in blessings. 

A church of 100 can do just as much meaningful ministry as a church of 10,000, if the large church only focuses on its own needs. Of course the same is true of the church of 100: once they move into survival mode, they will only look at budgets and expenditures that threaten the lifeblood of remaining faithful – and if one of the hundred leaves, they will make sure they are performing CPR on the ninety-nine who remain. As long as a church meets the budget to pay its staff and beautify its building, it can remain open for years and years. But are they truly living the radical nature of the Gospel of Jesus: the one that teaches to leave the 99 in the wilderness to seek the one that has been lost; the one that teaches to remove the log from its own eye before noticing the speck in their neighbor’s eye. This idea reverses the true meaning of the parable.

Pope Francis is right: we, as the Christian community, no matter the size or location, we constitute the one sheep, under the direction of the True Shepherd, Jesus Christ. There are plenty of large churches that only serve their own flock – and they become bigger and bigger because the pews are filled with people who need to surround themselves with others who like their own reflection.

The world of the un-churched and the de-churched constitute the ninety-nine who are seeking meaning, purpose, and understanding in a sinful world. And if we are the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, then we are compelled to seek the ninety-nine who are missing.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, you are just as concerned for the 1 sheep who has left the flock as you are for the 99 who have not strayed. Help me today to leave the safety of the flock and go into the world to seek after the lost, the last and the least of society. Amen.

Pastor Dave