The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to consider the care that the Good Shepherd offers to all people.
In the reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah God’s People Are Comforted.
* [40:1] The “voices” of vv. 3, 6 are members of the heavenly court addressing the prophet; then v. 1 can be understood as the Lord addressing them. It is also possible to translate, with the Vulgate, “Comfort, give comfort, O my people” (i.e., the exiles are called to comfort Jerusalem). The juxtaposition of “my people” and “your God” recalls the covenant formulary.
* [40:2] Service: servitude (cf. Jb 7:1) and exile.
* [40:3–5] A description of the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem (Zion). The language used here figuratively describes the way the exiles will take. The Lord leads them, so their way lies straight across the wilderness rather than along the well-watered routes usually followed from Mesopotamia to Israel. Mt 3:3 and gospel parallels adapt these verses to the witness of John the Baptizer to Jesus.
* [40:9] Herald of good news: i.e., of the imminent restoration of the people to their land. This theme of the proclamation of the good news occurs elsewhere in Second Isaiah; cf. also 41:27; 52:7. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 40, n.d.)
Psalm 96 offers praise to God Who Comes in Judgement.
* [Psalm 96] A hymn inviting all humanity to praise the glories of Israel’s God (Ps 96:1–3), who is the sole God (Ps 96:4–6). To the just ruler of all belongs worship (Ps 96:7–10); even inanimate creation is to offer praise (Ps 96:11–13). This Psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Is 40–55, as does Ps 98. Another version of the Psalm is 1 Chr 16:23–33. (Psalms, PSALM 96, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew presents the Parable of the Lost Sheep.
* [18:10–14] The first and last verses are peculiar to Matthew. The parable itself comes from Q; see Lk 15:3–7. In Luke it serves as justification for Jesus’ table-companionship with sinners; here, it is an exhortation for the disciples to seek out fellow disciples who have gone astray. Not only must no one cause a fellow disciple to sin, but those who have strayed must be sought out and, if possible, brought back to the community. The joy of the shepherd on finding the sheep, though not absent in Mt 18:13 is more emphasized in Luke. By his addition of Mt 18:10, 14 Matthew has drawn out explicitly the application of the parable to the care of the little ones.
* [18:11] Some manuscripts add, “For the Son of Man has come to save what was lost”; cf. Mt 9:13. This is practically identical with Lk 19:10 and is probably a copyist’s addition from that source. (Matthew, CHAPTER 18, n.d.)
Thomas Lenz comments that there are many moments throughout my day and week when it seems easy for me to recognize God’s presence – hearing my grandchildren laugh, watching the sunrise, or staring at the stars. But this parable lets me know that God makes a special point to personally engage with me when things are not well.
God doesn’t appear to be sitting on the sidelines, watching us go through the motions of life. God seems to be actively engaged in connecting with us even more so than us to God. In this parable, Jesus is telling us something important about who God is. God longs to “know” us just as much as (and probably more so than) we long to know God. This brings me comfort and joy during this Advent season, and it appears to bring comfort and joy to God, too. (Lenz, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “A small seed produces a great tree,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).
"Do you see in how many ways he leads us to care for our worthless brothers? Don't therefore say, 'The fellow's a smith, a cobbler, a farmer; he's stupid,' so that you despise him. In case you suffer the same, see in how many ways the Lord urges you to be moderate and enjoins you to care for these little ones. He placed a little child in the midst and said, 'Become like children,, and, 'Whoever receives one such child, receives me.' But 'whoever causes one of these to sin' will suffer the worst fate. And he was not even satisfied with the example of the millstone, but he also added his curse and told us to cut off such people, even though they are like a hand or eye to us. And again, through the angels to whom these small brothers are handed over, he urges that we value them, as he has valued them through his own will and passion. When Jesus says, 'The Son of man came to save the lost (Luke 19:10),' he points to the cross, just as Paul also says, writing about his brother for whom Christ died (Romans 14:15). It does not please the Father that anyone is lost. The shepherd leaves the ones that have been saved and seeks the one lost. And when he finds the one that has gone astray, he rejoices greatly at its discovery and at its safety." (excerpt from the THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 59.4) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 18:12-14 invites us to think about the parable that Jesus shares: a prudent shepherd might write off one wandering sheep and choose to focus on the ninety-nine that he has left. But God—our heavenly Shepherd—is always searching diligently for the one who has gone astray. It is not his will “that one of these little ones be lost” (Matthew 18:14).
That means that no matter how long you may have to wait for your precious “lost lamb” or “little one” to return, you can keep trusting that the Father hasn’t given up on them. Just as he never abandons us on our journey to our eternal home with him, the divine shepherd never writes off a single straying sheep. He remains vigilant, always alert for the slightest good intention or honest question that can provide an opening for his grace to break through.
So take heart! The story isn’t over, and the Shepherd is tirelessly at work. You can count on his unfailing love for you and for everyone you hold dear.
“Lord, you know how I long to see my loved ones draw closer to you. Help me to trust you more.” (Meditation on Matthew 18:12-14, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the passage from Isaiah is from Deutero-Isaiah, written during the Exile in Babylon. A Second Exodus is described and the time of punishment has ended as the people will be led by God as Shepherd. Friar Jude notes the attention of Christ to the “squeaky wheel” as He acts in love on the Cross for the return of those who need Him most.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explores how we often create God in our image, rather than the other way around.
Normally we find it very difficult to let God be greater than our culture, our immediate needs, and our projections. The human ego wants to keep things firmly in its grasp; so, we’ve created a God who fits into our small systems and our understanding of God. Thus, we’ve produced a God who requires expensive churches and robes, a God who likes to go to war just as much as we do, and a domineering God because we like to dominate. We’ve almost completely forgotten and ignored what Jesus revealed about the nature of the God he knew. If Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) then God is nothing like we expected. Jesus is in no sense a potentate or a patriarch, but the very opposite, one whom John the Baptist calls “the lamb of God” (John 1:29). We seem to prefer a lion. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the faithfulness of God to attend to the needs of all people as we consider the love of the Good Shepherd.
References
Isaiah, CHAPTER 40. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/40?1
Lenz, T. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/121024.html
Matthew, CHAPTER 18. (n.d.). USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/18?12
Meditation on Matthew 18:12-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/12/10/1148872/
Psalms, PSALM 96. (n.d.). USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/96?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Letting God Be God. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/letting-god-be-god/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). God Carries Us in His Bosom. Daily Scripture net. https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=dec10
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