First Reading - Isaiah 40:1-11
Gospel - Matthew 18:12-14
The first reading is tinged with two joyful messages; the message of forgiveness of the sins of people; and the return of the glory of God to Jerusalem. The exile was always projected by Isaiah and other prophets as the punishment of sins for the people of Israel but the return from the exile was the sign of remission of their sins by God. The prophet underlines that the exile was the period of atonement for the people which has been accepted by God. The second joyful message of the return of God to Jerusalem recalls the belief of the departure of the presence of the Lord from the temple as narrated by Ezekiel in chapter 10. The joyful message of the return of God to Jerusalem points to the preferable love of God for his people.
The gospel passage of the day tells about God's love that is shown to every individual, even those who are lost or gone astray from him. Jesus teaches his disciples that God does not want anyone to be lost. He displays God's love through a short parable of the lost sheep. The 'sheep' was the imagery used in the Old Testament for the people of Israel and 'shepherd' for God. Jesus uses the imageries to thrust an emphasis on the love God has for everyone. The abounding love of God is evident in the parable where the shepherd goes in search of the lost one leaving 99 behind. This apparently looks weird and stupid act on part of the shepherd but the point of emphasis in the parable is that even the lost one is more valuable and precious to the shepherd (at times, we are lost with what would happen to the 99 sheep left alone without any shepherd but we should remember that the focus of Jesus is not the ones who are not lost but the one which is lost).
Dear friends, God loves each one of us. He desires that no one should be lost or deviated from Him. When we hear about the love of God, it sounds great but this also poses a challenge to us. The challenge is to remain steadfast in God's love. The threat to God's love is sin. It's sin that leads us away from the love of God or the presence of God is obliterated from our hearts. We are challenged today by the readings to try every effort to lessen the effects of sins from our lives.
The readings of today invite us to rejoice in God's forgiveness of our sins that He shows in the Sacrament of Reconciliation where we are once again restored our original grace. The return of the people from the exile to their own town, in the first reading, is akin to the restoration of their original grace in the presence of the Lord. Let's allow Jesus to find us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
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