If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

Jesus as the Good Shepherd with lost sheep - Roman Catacombs, 3rd century

 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

- Matthew 18:10-20

Yesterday we read that, after Christ's second prediction of His Passion, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."

"Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven."  Once again, we remember that Jesus is using the image of a little child in front of the disciples.  But, for our proper understanding of His teaching, and following upon yesterday's reading, little ones include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.  St. John Chrysostom teaches regarding this verse that not only saints, but all people have guardian angels, my study bible says.  But the angels of the humble have greater boldness and greater honor before the face of God because of the humility of the person whom they guard.  It is not the nature of God, my study bible says,  but the weakness of human beings that requires the angels' service.

"For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."  Unlike earthly shepherds, my study bible says, Christ sees such value in one sheep that He will leave the others at risk to save it.  The ninety-nine sheep represent the righteous who remain faithful to God (Luke 15:7).  According to some patristic commentary, this is also an image of the Incarnation, in which the ninety-nine represent the angels in heaven.  Christ descended from heaven to pursue the one sheep -- humankind -- who had fallen into corruption and evil on earth.

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector."  Christ gives a description regarding discipline, and the place of forgiveness.  It should be noted that this is said in the context of His flock, the sheep, the Church.  Therefore "your brother" is another believer.  My study bible notes here that church discipline is based on mutual correction in three expanding stages.  Sin and correction, it says, are to remain private unless the offender refuses to repent.  All correction must be done with great care and humility, and the highest concern is the salvation of the offender (see 1 Corinthians 5:5; Galatians 6:1).  Nonetheless, it adds, there must be a correction, so that the sin does not spread to others as well.  The church is the entire assembly of the faithful, all followers of Christ, the body of Christ.  The word in Greek (ἐκκλησία) literally means those called out, from the world and to God.

"Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."   My study bible comments that the authority to bind and to loose sins is given to the apostles; and it is transmitted to the bishops and presbyters whom they ordained.  It emphasizes that this authority is given for the sake of the salvation of the sinner.  St. John Chrysostom writes of the sinner, that "seeing that he is not only cast out of the Church, but that the bond of his sin will remain in Heaven, he may turn and become gentle."  In other words, these corrective measures are taken to hopefully inspire repentance and return to Christ.

Over the course of the past two readings, Jesus has been seeking to establish some "ground rules," if you will, for the formation of His Church that is to come.  This present discourse began after Jesus had predicted His Passion for the second time, midst the sorrow of the disciples (see Wednesday's reading).  But not long after, and when they are back in Capernaum, the disciples approach Jesus with a question, "Who then is  greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  (See yesterday's reading, above.)   Perhaps they have considered His words about His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  At any rate, Jesus uses the occasion to teach about organization, discipline, and relatedness within His Church.  He began by showing them a little child as a model of discipleship, which my study bible says reveals the desired qualities of humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus corrected the apparent perspective of the disciples when they asked who would be greatest, by focusing instead on the virtues of a little child as those which a true disciple of Christ should seek to emulate.  Moreover, He gave the strictest caution to the disciples regarding possible abuses of power which would result in harm to the "little ones" in His church.  In today's reading, Jesus speaks deeply to our psychology, and especially to the psychology of love, when He speaks of the shepherd who goes in search of the one lost sheep.  In Luke 15, Jesus pairs this parable with the parable of the Lost Coin, and also the parable of the Lost Son (also known as the Prodigal Son), emphasizing the love which seeks those who have been lost to it.  This picture of God's love runs deep within that which makes us "like God" -- that is, our own soul's capacity for love, and our capacity to relate to these parables, longing especially for those who are lost to us.  The message about the Kingdom to which we belong as faithful regards the nature of God, and the kind of love among one another that Jesus wants to see in His Church, which is His Body.  We are a part of one another; it should pain us to be separated, and in particular to lose even one -- even if the rest remain.  This is why our pastors visit the sick and minister to the dying, why we seek to help the poor and the homeless and those forgotten by all the rest of the social structures we have.  It illustrates precisely why the "little ones" are of the greatest importance, and this applies to those of low stature in any case or condition of this world.  This is what love does.  It is why Jesus teaches us about the guardian angels of the "littlest" among us, who always see the face of God the Father.   It is why those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ are not defined by status or any other ostensible characteristic that commonly separates us in any worldly sense.  The correction that Christ offers is poignant, because it not only sets up a question (which will come next in our readings) about forgiveness, but it also establishes that there will be times when those who are intentionally lost to us must be separated.  That is, through the choices a person makes, they may not be able to remain a part of the group.  Abuses of this love will be taken seriously.  Nevertheless, it is hoped that the separation itself will be a remedy, a correction -- just as in the parable of the Prodigal Son, it was the very separation from his father's home that brought him back to recollection of who he really was.  Luke 15:17 tells us that it was "when he came to himself" that he realized how much better off he was, even as hired servant, in his father's care.  Let us consider what love is established as the rock of our Church, our faith.  Within the whole body of believers, this must be the rule, for everything else depends upon that.  John tells us, in his first Epistle, that "we love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 1:19).  Let us remember that His discipline is intrinsically tied to His love, as we seek to follow and be good disciples.