06 Dec 2011, Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

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

R. (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.

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."

Meditation: Matthew 18:12-14

“Will he not … go in search of the stray?” (Matthew 18:12)

Being a shepherd in first-cen­tury Israel was not as simple as just standing around holding a staff. The shepherd put himself in dan­ger, especially when venturing out after a stray sheep. He was in the wilderness all alone at the mercy of the elements. He might have encountered ravenous wolves or armed thieves. Whereas a hired hand would run away at the first sign of danger, the shepherd of a family flock risked his life—just to get one single stray sheep back!

Jesus tells us that he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:14-15). He left the comfort and safety of heaven to seek us out and bring us home. And it was a very perilous journey, too! From Herod’s murderous paranoia to Judas’ bitter betrayal to the agony of death on the cross, Jesus put himself in danger and endured great hardship. Yet he never abandoned his post. He never complained about his calling. He did it all out of love—love for you.

In his inaugural homily as pope, Benedict XVI told us: “The human race—every one of us—is the sheep lost in the desert which no longer knows the way. The Son of God will not let this happen; he cannot abandon humanity in so wretched a condition. He leaps to his feet and abandons the glory of heaven, in order to go in search of the sheep and pursue it, all the way to the cross. He takes it upon his shoul­ders and carries our humanity; he carries us all.”

Every day, your Creator seeks you out because he places such a high value on you. Every day, he wants to lead you and protect you. Every day, he wants to guide you and show you the way to go. You are so im­portant to him that he will not stop helping you until you are safe with him in heaven.

So rejoice in your salvation today. Spend your prayer time today thanking and praising your Good Shepherd for laying down his life for you. It wasn’t easy—but you are worth it!

“Jesus, how can you love me so much? Thank you for leaving your heavenly throne to find me and carry me back home!”