Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He spoke this parable to them, saying: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:1–7)
When one ailing sheep lags behind the others
And loses itself in the silvan mazes,
Tearing its white fleece on the thorns and briers,
Sharp in the brambles,
Unwearied the Shepherd, that lost one seeking,
Drives away the wolves and on His strong shoulders
Brings it home again to the fold’s safekeeping,
Healed and unsullied.
He brings it back to the green fields and meadows,
Where no thorn-bush waves with its cruel prickles,
Where no shaggy thistle arms trembling branches
With its rough briers,
But where palm trees grow in the open woodland,
Where the lush grass bends its green leaves, and laurels
Shade the glassy streamlet of living water
Ceaselessly flowing.
Prudentius, Hymn for Everyday 8.33–48
No comments:
Post a Comment