Philippians 3:3-8 / Luke 15:1-10
When we do an honest assessment of ourselves, then we may have to admit that we are quite comfortable and secure in life.
Most of us are fairly healthy, besides some aches and pains here and there; we have adequate food, clothing and shelter, even though we have to deal with some worries and anxieties along the way.
So generally speaking, we do have what it takes to go on in life. We are not really in dire straits or in any great disadvantage whatsoever.
Yet, St. Paul would say in the 1st reading that he had come to consider all the advantages that he had as disadvantages.
Indeed, all would seem as disadvantage if he does not have the supreme advantage of knowing Jesus Christ as his Lord.
In the gospel, the tax collectors and sinners were deemed as outcasts and a disadvantaged lot. The Pharisees, especially would see them as unfit for salvation and beyond redemption.
Yet Jesus would say that it was the tax collectors and sinners who had the advantage now because they have come to seek the company Jesus and to hear what He had to say.
Indeed of all the things that we are seeking and yearning for in life, none can ever be greater than that of seeking the company of Jesus and listening to what He had to say to us.
Jesus is always and everywhere with us - in our prayer and in every moment of our lives.
We just need to seek His company and listen to His promptings in our hearts. Then like the angels, we too will rejoice.