＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Isaiah 40: 1-11

 Be comforted, my people, be strengthened, says your God.  

 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, proclaim to her that her time of bondage is at an end, that her guilt has been paid for, that from the hand of Yahweh she has received double punishment for all her iniquity.

  A voice cries, “In the wilderness prepare the way for Yahweh. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.   Every valley will be raised up; every mountain and hill will be laid low. The stumbling blocks shall become level and the rugged places smooth.

  The glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all mortals together will see it; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”   A voice says, “Cry.” and I say, “What shall I cry?”

“All flesh is grass, and all its beauty as the flower of the field.

 The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of Yahweh blows upon it.   The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will forever stand.”   Go up onto the high mountain, messenger of good news to Zion, lift up your voice with strength, fear not to cry aloud when you tell Jerusalem and announce to the cities of Judah:

Here is your God!   Here comes Yahweh Sabaoth  with might; his strong arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and here before him is his booty.   Like a shepherd he tends his flock:  he gathers the lambs in his arms, he carries them in his bosom, gently leading those that are with young.

 

Ps The Lord our God comes with power.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 18: 12-14

What do you think of this? If some­­one has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one?  And I tell you: when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 

It is the same with your Father in heaven: Your Father in heaven doesn’t want even one of these little ones to perish.

 

Gospel Reflection：

“YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN DOESN’T WANT EVEN ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES TO PERISH.”

God is a God of comfort and of all consolations! This is the Good News that prophet Isaiah proclaims today. He would come to make straight in the wasteland a highway for the Lord so that whoever would come to follow him would never get lost. And if one goes astray, it would be easy for him to notice it and take him back to the fold.

This is the fulfillment of today’s Gospel. Jesus speaks the parable of the shepherd who has lost just one sheep out of one hundred. He leaves all the ninety-nine and goes in search of the stray. And, when he finds it, he brings it back.

He was happier over this lost sheep than the ninety-nine who never wandered away. Indeed, God counts on every one of us. he loves us unconditionally and is not only ready to have us back in the fold but is positively overjoyed about it. 

Christmas season is an opportune time for us all to reflect our own way of tending and shepherding those whoever is entrusted to us. Am I fulfilling the mission of a good shepherd, just as Jesus did? This is the message of Christmas: Be a good shepherd and companion to others.

Accompany those in need of your presence. Lead them to Jesus. Enjoy the company of Jesus. Amen.