Philippians 3:3-8 / Luke 15:1-10
Whenever there is a plane crash or when a ship sinks or in any kind of accident, search and rescue teams will be activated and sent immediately to the accident site.
The people in these teams have a common experience. They may have been in danger before, and may possibly in danger of death.
But they have been rescued from that danger and hence they know what it means to be saved.
And there is also one essential element in them - they have a sense of urgency. They know that time is short and speed is critical.
Otherwise, those who are trapped and waiting to be rescued might just easily give up hope and sink into despair and give up the will to live.
In the gospel, Jesus told three parables about the lost-and-found. This was in response to the Pharisees' complaint that He welcomes sinners and eats with them.
In doing so, Jesus showed that He came to seek, to search and to save what was lost. For Jesus the search was urgent because further delays would mean that those tax collectors and sinners would sink deeper into sin.
In the 1st reading we heard from St. Paul, who is also known as the "Apostle to the Gentiles".
For him, the experience of salvation was when he was a Pharisee and in working for the religion, he persecuted Christians.
On the road to Damascus, he saw the light and experience Jesus as the Lord and Saviour. In turn he became part of the team that went out to search and rescue those trapped in sin and brought them the Good News of salvation.
We too are saved from our sins and called to join in the mission of our Saviour. There is a sense of urgency. Because heaven is waiting to rejoice over the repentance of even one sinner.