The WORD in Other Words by Fr Abraham Borja SVD (Jerusalem) for Thursday Week 31 in Ordinary Time
Gospel
Lk 15:1-10
One Sunday, I was requested to bless a house. Among the guests present was Noam, a practicing Jew. In our sharing about some stories and issues in the Bible, he commented: “The Rabbis did not like Jesus because he was introducing and teaching new things; he was a revolutionary.”
In today‘s gospel, the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus‘ good acts towards the tax collectors and sinners. Jesus narrated parables of lost properties (sheep and coin) to emphasize the significance of his actions.
The search for what is lost goes beyond a simple recovery of what is missing. The determined and diligent search for a missing property signifies that the property is important to the owner.
The Pharisees and scribes would not question that. What they questioned was Jesus‘ search for people who are more valuable than any property. Jesus prioritizes people, not properties. We are always called and challenged to do the same.
