God Draws Close
Gospel Reflection for December 10th, 2024 - Matthew 18:12-14
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."
Today we see Jesus speaking to the nature of God, His immense love for us, not just as a Church but on an intimate, personal level. In a parable that is to the point, Jesus lays out the heart of God, His care for the lost and His relentless pursuit of them. How He rejoices that they are found, not through an act of duty, but with great love for the soul that was lost.
We are already in the second week of Advent, preparing our hearts, our minds, and our souls for Christ, it is a busy time but I want to encourage us all to recall God’s love for us.
As CCC 1 states “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man.”
In the rush of the season, as we put up our decorations, plan parties, attend school events, set travel plans, buy presents, plan meals and more, today’s gospel challenges us to hit pause, if only for a moment. To reorient our hearts to the why behind what we are doing this season. Why are we running around doing all of these things?
Love.
CCC 1 goes on to say “He calls man to see him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.”
As we approach the half-way mark of Advent, in preparation for the glorious moment of Christ’s birth, let us all pause and refocus our hearts on the beauty of God’s love for us, that He draws close to us in every time and in every place. That His love for us entered the fullness of time and calls us to himself that we may be heirs of his blessed life.
“God draws close to man.”