Tuesday December 7

SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT

God, the Shepherd     

                                     

Introduction

         The author of Second Isaiah has a beautiful message of joy and hope. God will end the exile of his people and bring them back to him. Their sins are forgiven. He will live among them as their shepherd.

         God became visible as the shepherd of his people in Jesus Christ. To him, every person is precious, especially the little people and sinners. The pilgrim Church – her leaders, and all those belonging to the Church, are to be merciful and forgiving, responsible for one another, sinners responsible for their fellow sinners.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord, our God,
you are near to us
in Jesus Christ, your Son.
When we go astray,
you look for us until you find us.
Bring us back to you,
show us the way to you
through him who is our way,
Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

 

Reading 1: Is 40:1-11

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;
Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
The rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

A voice says, “Cry out!”
I answer, “What shall I cry out?”
“All flesh is grass,
and all their glory like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower wilts,
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it.
So then, the people is the grass.
Though the grass withers and the flower wilts,
the word of our God stands forever.”

Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
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.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 96:1-2, 3 and 10ac, 11-12, 13

(see Isaiah 40:10ab) The Lord our God comes with power.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name;
announce his salvation, day after day.
R. The Lord our God comes with power.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord our God comes with power.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice.
R. The Lord our God comes with power.
They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. The Lord our God comes with power.

 

Alleluia

Alleluia, alleluia.
The day of the Lord is near;
Behold, he comes to save us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: Mt 18:12-14

Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.”

 

Intercessions

–       That the Church may be compassionate and patient with people who err, as God is compassionate to us, we pray:

–       That we may bring joy and comfort to one another, as God has brought us joy and comfort in Christ, we pray:

–       That we may not condemn people who commit mistakes or hurt us, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God, merciful Father,
you are always near to us
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
In these signs of bread and wine,
we celebrate his living presence.
Through him, speak to our hearts,
reassure us that we are precious to you,
even though we are the sinners,
and begin with us your new era
of merciful love and joy.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord God, shepherd of people,
in this Eucharist, you have let us experience
that you want to be close to us
through our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
Help us to be shepherds to one another,
sinners responsible for their fellow sinners,
taking one another as we are,
because you take us as we are,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Blessing

We thank God that he still cared for us when we sinned. With him, we care also for people who go astray. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

The first chapter of the second part of Isaiah announces a central theme. The time of captivity is past; the road to the home­land is made secure. Jerusalem stands at attention in welcoming her exiled sons and daughters. It is the word comfort that is most striking. The people had long felt desolate and abandoned in their sinfulness—without hope, country, or temple—and are now sum­moned to return home. Cyrus, the Persian king, will even assist the people in their resettlement and reconstruction.

It is a warm and comforting message, like the shepherd car­rying his sheep back home. Comfort became visible in the face of a frightened infant in his father’s arms in the wake of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. The father had carried the child for miles over mountain passes to bring him to a medical aid station. He was near death. There was little life in his half-closed eyes. In a short time, with basic medical assistance, the child revived. By the time he was lifted by helicopter a few days later, his eyes were bright, and the comfort derived from his father’s arms was palpable.

When people are deeply depressed, God is often their only refuge. We can never forget one of faith’s strongest lessons.

 

Points to Ponder

The comfort of God

Cyrus—worthy of recognition

The lost sheep.