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Hope for the Lost

Ordinary Time (First Section)Youth Justice, Prevention and Restoration Week 9 · Day 2

Scripture References

Read First

Old Testament

Jeremiah 29:10-14

¹⁰ For the LORD says, “After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word towards you, in causing you to return to this place.
¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think towards you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.
¹² You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

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¹³ You shall seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.
¹⁴ I will be found by you,” says the LORD, “and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you,” says the LORD. “I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.”

New Testament

Luke 15:3-7

³ He told them this parable:
⁴ “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost, until he found it?
⁵ When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

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⁶ When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
⁷ I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

Thought for the Day

Jeremiah writes to exiles who have begun to doubt that return is possible. God’s promise is patient and specific: after long years, “I will come to you.” He speaks of plans for welfare and a future, for שָׁלוֹם rather than collapse. Hope, here, is not wishful thinking. It is God’s intention, held over time.

God who seeks, come near. Give us the courage to look for the one without losing the many, the wisdom to protect the vulnerable, and the tenderness to rejoice when anyone comes home.

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Jesus tells a story about one sheep lost, and a shepherd who will not quietly adjust the figures. The ninety-nine are left in the open country while he searches “until he finds it.” And when he does, he does not scold the sheep into shame. He lifts it onto his shoulders and calls others into rejoicing.

So we pray for young people who have wandered into danger, and for those who feel beyond retrieval: the missing, the exploited, the runaway, the child hardened too early. We pray for families searching with tired love. We pray for workers and volunteers who keep turning up when progress is slow, and who refuse to treat a life as disposable.

Prayer Points

Respond

For young people who are missing, exploited, or drifting: swift help and safe return.
For families searching and waiting: endurance, protection, and gentle companions.
For schools, charities, and services doing prevention and outreach: wisdom and perseverance.

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For communities where danger has become normal: renewed trust and honest peace.
For the Church: eyes to notice the one, and joy to rejoice when anyone comes home.

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