The image of the Good Shepherd and the lost sheep fits well in the Advent season. It blends well with the call of the season to wait. Advent is waiting for Jesus not so much to be born as to find us. He was born already, we know. Let us not overly romanticize the Christmas crèche.
Jesus is not born every year. But He may have lost us to sin, and this does happen over and over again. Advent should heighten our awareness that He who is our Good Shepherd searches for us, approaches us, and finds us. Let us not wander farther. Stay and wait. Jesus will find us. And this we are most certain because that is the work of a shepherd. When we realize, therefore, that we are lost, panicking and running farther is not the best option to take. The best solution to being lost is staying and waiting, for Jesus will send someone to find us.
Are you lost? Do you panic and fret or do you stay and reflect? Do you run farther and so you are lost deeper into the woods or do you wait for the Shepherd to find you? Who are the people whom the Shepherd sends to rescue you? Do you thank them enough? Have you ever considered your self being sent out by the Shepherd to search and find His lost sheep? Advent is a time for waiting and for searching. Live it.
On the night He was born, the first visitors of Jesus were shepherds. That should not surprise us. He is their chief! He is the best of every good shepherd. And He came to find the lost sheep, no longer contended with asking, "Where are you?"
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