December 9, 2025
Tuesday of the Second Week of
Advent
Lectionary: 182
Reading
1
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
Psalm 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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The day of the Lord is near;
Behold, he comes to save us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120925.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
40:1-11
Today we begin a series of readings from what is known as
‘The Book of Consolation’. It consists of chapters 40 to 55 of Isaiah, and its
unknown author is referred to as ‘Second Isaiah’. He is writing much later, at
the end of the Jews’ exile in Babylon, and speaks with confidence of their
returning to Jerusalem. The name ‘Consolation’ comes from the first words of
today’s reading:
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Comfort (“console” in some translations) is the prevailing
theme of this section compared to the more threatening prophecies of the first
40 chapters.
The opening part is actually a cantata for several voices.
The time of suffering in exile is coming to an end:
…she has served her term…
The return to Jerusalem is seen as a new Exodus. The exile
was seen as a punishment for Israel’s sin and infidelity. There is now to be an
end of punishment and suffering:
…her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
The Jewish people were punished both by exile and by being
treated as slaves and mercenaries of the conquering power. Next is written:
A voice cries…
The identity of the voice obeying the order to “Speak
tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her” is left unknown, but during this Advent
season, it will be applied to John the Baptist who announces the coming of the
Saviour:
…prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
It was the custom in Babylonia, where the Jews were exiled,
for triumphal “ways” to be made ready for the coming of a god or a victorious
king. People would go ahead to prepare this way. John the Baptist will fulfil
that role, but it is for each one of us as well to prepare the way for Christ
to come into the lives of those who do not yet know or accept him. During
Advent we will reflect on just how each one of us can do that most effectively.
As we approach Christmas, we can ask ourselves what are the
obstacles in our lives preventing the coming of Jesus into our hearts? In the
reading, the “way” is the road by which God’s people will make their new exodus
back to their home country. It is a road with all obstacles removed, and an
occasion when:
…the glory of the Lord will be revealed.
It will be revealed by the return of God’s people to their
own land, but as we read this passage in Advent, ultimately, the glory of the
redeeming God will be seen in Jesus Christ and in all those who live by his
Spirit. This is what we are preparing for during this time.
The voice commands again: “Cry out” and the prophet asks,
“What shall I cry?” The answer comes:
All flesh is grass;
their constancy [beauty] is like the flower of the field.
The greatness and beauty of the Babylonian empire—like all
empires—is coming to an end. It is going to be replaced by that of Persia,
which itself will in time disappear, as has every empire since. Only:
…the word of our God will stand forever.
This is the God in whom the Israelites have put their trust,
and he will not disappoint them. It is a message that Jerusalem is to proclaim
to all the people. God’s message is never to be kept to oneself. This is a time
to shout from the mountain tops. Shout without fear:
Here is your God!
That is what it is all about. Jesus, our God, is coming. It
is for us to remind people as to why we have all those lights and
celebrations…all those preparations we are now making for Christmas…all those
gifts we are buying or hoping to get…all that food and drink we will put away.
What will be left in the days and months that follow? What will we take from
Christmas that will still be around in March, in June, in September?
Jesus comes as a God of power, subduing all things before
him. But it is a very special kind of power.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms
and carry them in his bosom
and gently lead the mother sheep.
What a beautiful image of our all-powerful God! What
tenderness is expressed here! It is one that Jesus will develop and he, too,
will call himself the “Good Shepherd” (see Matt 18:12-14; John 10:11-18). And
it will not be a coincidence that the first people to pay homage at the stable
in Bethlehem will be shepherds.
Christmas is a time when many people come back to church, if
only for one day. Is not this the time for them to be reminded that this is the
God we believe in—the God that we all need to know?
We all need to hear the words of today’s Gospel, spoken by
that gentle Shepherd:
…it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of
these little ones should be lost. (Matt 18:14)
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Commentary on
Matthew 18:12-14
After the wonderful Advent reading from Isaiah today, let us
now look at the Gospel reading. It comes from chapter 18 of Matthew, in which
we find one of the five long discourses of Jesus in his Gospel. The discourse
deals with various issues involving relationships in the Christian community,
and especially when those relationships break down.
Just before this, Jesus has been talking about scandal, that
is, about actions by a Christian which are the cause of a fellow-Christian’s
doing something wrong (Matt 18:6-9). It is bad enough to go against God’s will
oneself, but to make another fall is much worse. Jesus says it would be better
for such a person to be drowned in the sea. This is especially the case if one
is dealing with one of the “little ones”. These ‘little ones’ are not exactly
children—although children are clearly not excluded—but rather those who are
weak and immature in their Christian faith and so can easily be misled.
It is at this point that Jesus speaks the parable of the
shepherd, a shepherd who has lost just one sheep out of one hundred. He leaves
all the ‘good’ ones and goes in search of the stray. It does not say why this
one sheep wandered off. All that matters is that it has gotten lost and is
separated from its shepherd. And when he finds it and brings it back, he is
happier over this lost sheep than he is over the ninety-nine who never wandered
away. This being a parable, there is probably a little exaggeration here
because of course the real Shepherd loves all his sheep equally. But a point is
being made—that our God loves us unconditionally, and is not only ready to have
us back in the fold, but is positively overjoyed about it.
This parable can be applied both to those ‘little ones’ who
were led astray and to those who did the terrible thing of leading them astray.
Both will be welcomed back with equal joy.
As we approach Christmas and the birth of that loving
Shepherd (how appropriate that the first to greet his arrival were shepherds!),
we could well reflect on how we look on those who have gone astray morally or
on those who may have been instrumental in causing their behaviour. How
judgemental are we? And how ready are we to receive back the wrongdoer, not
just grudgingly, but with joy?
Let the words of Jesus be deeply etched on our hearts at
this time:
…it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of
these little ones should be lost.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/a1023g/
Tuesday,
December 9, 2025
2nd Week of
Advent
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 and to one
another
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.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 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."
Reflection
•
A parable is not a teaching to be received in a
passive way or just to be kept in the memory. Rather, it is an invitation to
participate in the discovery of truth. Jesus begins by asking, “What do you
think?” A parable is a question with a response which is not defined. The
response depends on the reaction and participation of the listeners. Let us
then seek the answer to this parable of the lost sheep.
•
Jesus tells a very brief story and in a very
simple way: a shepherd had 100 sheep, he lost one, and leaves the 99 on the
mountain and goes to look for the lost sheep. And Jesus asks, “What do you
think?” that is, “Would you do the same?” Which would have been the response of
the shepherds and of the other persons who were listening to Jesus tell this
story? Would they do the same thing? Which is my answer to Jesus’ question? Let
us think well before answering. If you had 100 sheep and you lost one, what
would you do? We should not forget that mountains are places which are very
difficult to climb, with deep precipices, where dangerous animals live and
where robbers hide. And you cannot forget that you have lost only one sheep,
and therefore, you still have 99! You have lost very little. Would you abandon
the other 99 on those mountains? Perhaps, would not only a person with little
common sense do what the shepherd of the parable of Jesus did? Think about it!
•
The shepherds who heard Jesus’ story perhaps
thought and commented, “Only a shepherd without judgment would act that way!”
Surely, they would have asked Jesus, “Jesus, excuse us, but who is that
shepherd whom You are speaking about? To do what he did is foolish!”
•
Jesus answers, “This Shepherd is God, our
Father, and the lost sheep is you!” In other words, the one who does this
action is God moved by great love for the little ones, for the poor, the
excluded! Only a very great love is able to do something so foolish. The love
with which God loves us exceeds prudence and good human sense. The love of God
commits foolish things. Thank God! If it were not like this, we would be lost!
Personal Questions
•
Place yourself in the place of the little lost
sheep and enliven your faith and your hope. You are that sheep!
•
Take the place of the shepherd and consider
whether your love for the little ones is true.
•
How can we be instruments in God’s effort to
return the lost sheep? In this season of harvest celebrations, thanksgiving,
Advent and Christmas, with family all around, do we leave to try to help and
welcome those that are lost, poor, and without, as this shepherd would?
Concluding Prayer
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. (Ps
96)
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