Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent
(Isaiah 40:1-11; Matthew 18:12-14)
There is a story from the Cold War days that might help us
understand God's Word today. A Russian woman came to visit the United States. At
first she only saw the social problems. She
criticized the decayed neighborhoods, the litter in the streets, and the selling
of drugs on street corners. Then she
entered a supermarket and was stunned by the great quantities of all the different
products. She began to cry saying, “You
mean all this is available to me?”
In a similar way the reading from Isaiah testifies to the
bounty of God’s goodness to the exiled people of Jerusalem. They can return home now. They have suffered enough for their sins. God is giving them back double for their
suffering. Like a shepherd cares for his
lambs, God is looking after all the needs of His people.
Jesus fulfills this vision of Isaiah. He is like the shepherd of his own parable who
risks the loss of more sheep to save the one who has gone astray. He calls us from our sins. Yes, we all have them – our laziness and
habitual errors that we have grown accustomed to. He beckons us to learn from him.
