THE WORD BECAME FLESH

Tuesday in the Second Week of Advent, 2022

Isa 40:1-10

Ps 96

Matt 18:12-14

Not the will of my Father

Dear friends in Christ, God’s will is always the good of his people. He does not desire evil not even the death of a sinner. His plans are always for our good. There are times when what we see is something negative, but for those who are patient enough, even such turns around for the good of those who trust. All things work together for good for those who put their trust in God.

Our first reading today (Isaiah 40:1-11) is a message of comfort from God who is bringing an end to the sufferings of the exiles—an exile occasioned by their fault. Now, they can rejoice in the forgiveness of God. “Cry to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned,” God promises to return his people to their land and restore what they had lost. All he asks in return is that they make a proper preparation. “In the wilderness prepare a way for the Lord, make straight in the desert a way for our God…” It is a radical conversion, that seems to turn upside down, the values of the world, “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” This recognition that the beauty of the world passes, just as the beauty of the flower fades, invites us too, to set our hearts on eternal things. Isaiah cries, “Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God comes with power…He will feed the flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms…” This prophecy goes beyond its time. Behold therefore your God who comes in his Christ. How prepared are you to receive him?

In the gospel of today (Matthew 18:12-14) we see the compassion of God as relayed in the example of a farmer, who has a hundred sheep and suddenly discovers that one is missing. Jesus tells this story like a normal decision of a shepherd, “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray?” Jesus says that there is more rejoicing over the strayed sheep, that has successfully been retrieved, than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. The mercy of God towards the sinner means that no one is in the crowd, we do not just make up the numbers, and every soul is dear and important to God. For that reason, God rejoices at the repentance of a sinner. “So, it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” The confessional is not a place of punishment, but a place of comfort and invitation to return home to the warm embrace of God—there you find pardon for your iniquity.

Let us pray: Lord, even though lost in sin, we cherish your fatherly love. Take us back to yourself. Amen. 

+Remain blessed