In the Gospel this week Jesus responds to those who criticise him for keeping company with the unworthy.

The Gospel tells us how God welcomes us, loves us and forgives us all. So what does this mean for us in our lives?

In the stories, the shepherd was really concerned when he lost one sheep out of a hundred and the woman was frantic about losing one coin out of ten. Even though it was only one sheep or one coin, it was still very important and valuable to the person who had lost it. 

In the same way as in the stories, all people are valuable to God, because God made us and loves us. We are all different and we are all special to God and He will search for us when we have lost our way. No matter what we do God will forgive us and take us back.

God cares for us and loves us. He wants us to do what is right. But sometimes we don’t listen, we are not very generous, and we can be mean to others, or we do other things we know are wrong. At these times we’re a bit like the sheep or the coin that is lost, because we are turning away from God. This doesn’t mean that God loves and cares for us any less. God loves us and watches over us always. And when we see that we have done something wrong and we can ask for forgiveness and turn back to God, God is happy and welcomes us back and celebrate because we are no longer lost.

Mrs Darwin
STCCAT Chaplain

For more reflections and thoughts on how we can live out the Gospel please see our Chaplaincy page.