Reflections on Seeking the Lost (Dog)

I suppose there's a danger of overspiritualizing the events in our lives, looking for meaning where there is none. Still, I can't help but be reminded of Jesus' parables regarding the shepherd leaving the 99 to find the one lost sheep.

Luke 15:1-5

I'm also reminded of the parable of the woman and the lost coin: she had 10 coins, but lost one, and so she searched through every corner of her house to find the one lost coin. When she found it, she rejoiced and told all her neighbors to rejoice with her.

Luke 15:8-10

I guess I'd never appreciated before the state of mind of the shepherd looking for the one lost sheep. We know that when David, the king, was a shepherd boy, he'd fought off a lion and a bear. And Jesus mentions predatory wolves attacking flocks of sheep in his analogies. So there were some dangers involved in the shepherd seeking the one lost sheep in the wilderness. Dangers for both the shepherd and for the lost sheep.

And the real possibility that the shepherd would never find the lost sheep. Maybe it would get lost in the wilderness somewhere and the shepherd would never find it. Or it would wander off and join another flock, and be claimed, knowingly or unknowingly, by another shepherd.

And with each passing hour, the shepherd's chances of finding the sheep would diminish.

So in some ways, it's kind of irrational to leave 99 sheep that are safe in a pen somewhere, and leave the safety and comfort of wherever the shepherd was staying, and go off to try to seek and save the one lost sheep. And yet, this is what Jesus says he is like.

And when he finds the one lost sheep, his rejoicing is great.