Great-Martyr Barbara (286-305); Our Venerable Father John of Damascus (749)
Nativity Fast. Abstinence from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read
1 Timothy 1:18-20; 2:8-15; Luke 15:1-10
Our Lord reminds the Pharisees and scribes today about the greatness of God’s love, which knows no bounds and surpasses human reason and understanding. Could you imagine leaving ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness for the sake of finding one lost sheep? Are you willing to leave your entire livelihood in order to find one small part of it? Of course, the Lord is everywhere present and filling all things and so He does not leave people to find the lost, but Jesus wants us to really understand how much each person is valued in God’s eyes. Each of us is irreplaceable, unique and loved by God as if we are the only human to exist. This kind of love should lift me up, uphold my dignity and affirm me as a human being not because I find value in myself, but because the eternal God finds eternal value in me.