Homily for kids(Luke 15: 1-7)

Dear children of God,

Have you ever lost something that was really important to you? Maybe it was your favorite toy, or a special book, or even your homework right before school? How did you feel when you lost it? Worried? Sad? And how did you feel when you found it again?Happy! Excited! Relief!

Today, Jesus tells us a story about a shepherd who lost one of his sheep. Let's listen to what the Gospel of Luke tells us:

From the Gospel according to Luke:

*"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.'"* (Luke 15:1-7)

Boys and girls, in Jesus' time, shepherds were very important. They took care of sheep, which provided wool for clothes and milk for food. Shepherds spent all day and night with their sheep, protecting them from wild animals and making sure they had food and water.

Now, imagine you're a shepherd with 100 sheep. That's a lot of sheep to count! One evening, as you're counting your sheep to make sure they're all safe, you count: "97, 98, 99..." Oh no! One sheep is missing! What would you do?

Some people might say, "Well, I still have 99 sheep. That's plenty! I'll just forget about the one that's lost." But that's not what the good shepherd does. He leaves the 99 sheep somewhere safe and goes searching for the one lost sheep. He climbs mountains, walks through valleys, and looks everywhere until he finds that one sheep that wandered away.

And when he finds it, what does he do? Does he scold the sheep and say, "Bad sheep! Why did you wander away?" No! The Gospel tells us he puts the sheep on his shoulders with great joy! He's so happy that he found his lost sheep that he calls all his friends and neighbors to celebrate!

Jesus tells us this story to teach us something very important about God. God is like that shepherd, and we are like the sheep. Sometimes we wander away from God when we make bad choices or when we forget to pray or when we're not kind to others. But God never forgets about us. God always comes looking for us, and when we turn back to Him, there's a big celebration in heaven!

Saint Augustine, one of the great teachers of our Church, once said that God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love. Isn't that amazing? Even though God created billions of people, He cares about each one of us personally.

Now, there's another part of the story that's interesting. Did you notice who Jesus was talking to when He told this parable? The Gospel says that tax collectors and sinners were coming to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes were complaining. They didn't like that Jesus was spending time with people who had made mistakes.

But Jesus wanted to show them that God loves everyone, especially those who know they've made mistakes and want to change. That's what "repent" means – to turn away from bad choices and turn back to God.

So what does this mean for us? Three things:

First, it means that God loves you very, very much. No matter what mistakes you make, God will always come looking for you because you are precious to Him.

us when we're lost, and for celebrating with all of heaven when we come back to Him.

Let us pray: Dear Jesus, thank You for being our Good Shepherd. Help us to listen to Your voice and follow You. And when we wander away, help us to remember that You are always looking for us, ready to bring us home with joy. Amen.