DAILY- HOMILY

DECEMBER 11, 2007
TUESDAY 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT - YEAR I

ISAIAH 40:1-11
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.

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
There are perhaps two messages from today's Gospel parable. The
first, God loves the stray, the sinner, and the disadvantaged in our
society. They deserve the same attention as others, to the extent
that Jesus would risk the security of the remaining ninety-nine sheep
in order to bring the back the lost one. No one is expendable in
God's eyes.

The second message is that God loves each of the remaining ninety-
nine sheep just as much as the one stray sheep. This message perhaps
is more difficult to understand and accept because the remaining
sheep were left to fend for themselves in an insecure environment
while he looked for the lost sheep. But perhaps the focus of the
second message is: that love is not just about attention it is also
about trust. Jesus trusted the remaining sheep to stay together and
keep the faith. We know from experience, that perhaps the best way
to feel love is not only to feel that we were recognized but also
that we were trusted.

Advent is not only about waiting for Jesus' coming to receive his
love and attention. It is also realizing that Jesus has trusted us
to keep the faith, spread the Word, and help our neighbor. When we
have fully accepted his trust then perhaps we can say that we are
truly prepared for Jesus' coming into our hearts.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
... for the personal intentions of Aguado, Curitana, Dumaua, Gollayan,
Gurango and Magcamit Families
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Wedding Anniversary: Tom & Edita Caro
... for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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