Recovering From Loss
advent to epiphany - day 10

Today’s readings: Isaiah 40:1-11; Matthew 18:12-14

Comfort for God's People

¹"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. ²"Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and that her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her in full for all her sins."

³Listen! I hear the voice of someone shouting, "Make a highway for the LORD through the wilderness. Make a straight, smooth road through the desert for our God. ⁴Fill the valleys and level the hills. Straighten out the curves and smooth off the rough spots. ⁵Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!"

⁶A voice said, "Shout!" I asked, "What should I shout?" "Shout that people are like the grass that dies away. Their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of flowers in a field. ⁷The grass withers, and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people. ⁸The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever."

⁹Messenger of good news, shout to Zion from the mountaintops! Shout louder to Jerusalem—do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, "Your God is coming!" ¹⁰Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in all his glorious power. He will rule with awesome strength. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. ¹¹He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

Story of the Lost Sheep

¹²"If a shepherd has one hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? ¹³And if he finds it, he will surely rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away! ¹⁴In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Who of us hasn’t been—or felt—lost? Whether we have a childhood memory of momentary separation from a parent, a teenage recollection of not fitting in or an adult sense of being adrift, feelings of pain and sadness can surface. We are all the lost sheep of whom Jesus speaks today. But he welcomes and seeks our return home. What “lost sheep” can you take into the fold of your family today?

-- Catholic Update, “Advent Reflections: Longing for Peace”

taken from advent to epiphany: celebrating the Christmas Season

i am not catholic, but i have a friend in texas that made me think about this, and i think it is cool.

this is getting out late, sorry.