may the Lord bless you with grace, peace, and health in the Holy Spirit.
It is 07th December 2021.
We celebrate the memorial of St. Ambrose, bishop, and doctor of the Church. We reflect on Isaiah 40:1-11 and Matthew 18:12-14.
“God will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” (Is.40:11).
God consoles God’s people through the prophet Isaiah. The departure of the presence of God was the most painful disaster for the people of Israel by losing the Ark to the army of Philistines. Now there is a new way is prepared to bring back the presence and power of God. The return of the Lord to God’s people was an experience intermingled with the life of people. God comes not as a judge but as a loving, caring and protecting shepherd. Advent is such a onetime God comes into our lives to heal, and go home with us. We who have felt the distance, absence, and departure of God due to our own choices.
Yes, even that one person matters like the one sheep. As children of God, we too take a wrong turn and direction in our life. That is why so many people God sends in our life to direct, reposition, and return to the correct path that leads to God.
The joy that is evoked by the return of lapsed person is beyond words. Whether in the lost sheep, lost coin or the lost son, God is eagerly waiting for the safe return. The Gospel of mercy that is Lukan Gospel brings out the most loving, caring, and affectionate gesture of God by placing the last sheep on God’s shoulder. The pride and joy of a child who is being carried by a father in public are indeed having the feeling of so loved. Either abandoning to look for the lost sheep is a peculiar and unfathomable expression of God’s love for each one of us. May we too try bringing God’s warmth and love to those who have lost touch with God and the Church. God bless you.