Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 2nd Week of Advent - Tues
[Isa 40:1-11 and Matt 18:12-14]Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated.... Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care."[Isaiah] "What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost." [Matthew 18:12-14]
DECEMBER 9 TUESDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT [St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin]
This past Saturday evening [Dec. 6], I had the great pleasure of attending, online, a performance of Handel's THE MESSIAH by the Lubbock Community Chorale. [Three of my close friends from my years at Texas Tech were singing in it.] Isaiah's words from the Book of Comfort are gloriously rendered in music and voice in that oratorio. In many ways, it is a "preaching" of the image of the shepherd and flock contained in Isaiah and the gospel passage today. It is comforting, indeed, to know that the Lord will come looking for us if we go astray.
The Lord's search may be conducted by caring deputy shepherds who may or may not be "official" shepherds like clergy and religious. They may be regular faithful Christians who care and want to offer comfort and care. Sometimes it may require courage to do this. But the Advent gift of HOPE cannot be hoarded in individual devotion. It is meant to be shared. The finding of the stray is worth rejoicing over, but it won't happen if a caring shepherd doesn't go looking for it! AMEN
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