Dear Parishioners,
I came across this story on the internet:
One night, a man was walking on the street, and he saw a little boy under a lamppost looking for something. The man asked the boy, “Did you lose something?”
The boy said, “Sir, I lost my wallet.”
The man said, “I’ll help you look for it, son.”
After a few minutes of looking, the man asked the boy, “Are you sure you lost it here?”
The little boy shook his head, “No, I lost it over there,” pointing far away.
The man was bewildered. “Then why in the world are we looking for your wallet here under the lamppost?”
“Because it’s dark over there and it’s bright over here, so it’s much easier to look for it here.”
This struck me because I think, sometimes we’re looking for the lost in the wrong places. We want the lost to go to us — instead of us going to them.
I’m not talking about physically but pastorally. Meaning to say, we have to meet people where they are. To be welcoming means to be able to accept each other and make our church a no-judgment zone. Sometimes we set up rules that are making it very difficult for people to come into the Church.
Jesus said if a shepherd has 100 sheep and loses one, won’t he leave the 99 to look for the missing one? From my observation, much is to be desired regarding deliberately looking for the lost or reaching out to those who are discouraged from entering the Church. The parable today is all about having everybody counted among us. By being welcoming, we are saying that each one of us counts. No one left behind.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Lito