First Reading: Romans 14:7-12
Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why then do you judge your brother or sister?
Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;
for it is written:
As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.
So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 27:1BCDE, 4, 13-14
R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Gospel: Luke 15:1-10
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
NAB
A little warning—I am a nerd.
I am a scientist, I am a dentist, I am an explorer, I am always wondering. The physical world around us completely fascinates me. Whether it is the intricacies of a spider’s web, the colors that dance off the clouds after a storm, the architecture of the human tooth, the complex development of a human being in the womb—it is so stinking mesmerizing.
(Nerd alert.)
I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
We are blessed with the ability to make observations of this world. We don’t just exist on top of this pile of rock, we dwell within His earthly creation.
Babies are the true scientists and observers of our God’s perfect creation. They are unfettered by stigmas, by political agendas, by preconceptions. They are the pure scientists of this world. They wonder, they observe, they test, they learn. They see the bounty of the Lord—it is what forms their entire knowledge base. (My eighteen month old daughter probably has a better idea of physics than I do.)
While I am no expert on theology or Biblical studies—I am pretty sure God never said, “Okay, I gave you this beautiful earth to exist on—now go live in a box and don’t open your eyes."
I cannot look into the layers of color in the iris of my daughter’s beautiful eyes, I cannot look at the choreographed waves of the ocean, I cannot listen to the music of the crickets outside my window at night without being overwhelmed by the bounty of the Lord’s creation.
We are blessed with the ability to make observations of this world.Click to tweet
Be the scientist again, look at this world with wide-eyed wonder again, stop, observe, learn.
Samantha Aguinaldo-Wetterholm is a wife, mom, and soon-to-be-dentist currently living in San Francisco, California. You can find out more about her here.
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