9 December 2025 – Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent
Isaiah 40:1-11; Matthew 18:12-14.
Homily
Today's first reading, taken as on previous days from the Book of Isaiah, is the beginning of the second part of this book, or what is called Second Isaiah, and therefore also the beginning of what is known by the beautiful name of the Book of the Consolation of Israel. It is also the story of the prophet's calling.
It is one of the most beautiful poetic texts in the Old Testament. It is a text filled with tenderness and joy, announcing the end of exile. The verses "A voice cries out: 'Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be filled, every mountain and hill shall be made low" will be quoted by John the Baptist. This is why he will be compared to the second Isaiah.
At the end of this beautiful text, Yahweh is compared to a shepherd pasturing his flock, gathering his lambs in his arms, holding them to his breast and leading them to rest. It is therefore not surprising that the passage from the Gospel of Matthew about the lost sheep that the good shepherd goes to find, leaving the ninety-nine others in the mountains, was chosen as the Gospel. And the conclusion is that this shepherd derives more joy from this found sheep than from all the others.
In Luke, this parable is part of a group of three, all with the same theme: that of joy – the joy of the woman who finds her lost coin, the joy of the shepherd who finds his lost sheep, and the joy of the father who finds his son. The conclusion of these three parables was: ‘There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.’
Here, in Matthew, the conclusion is different. As this text follows the warning against scandalizing the little ones, we can better understand why the story ends here with the sentence: ‘Your Father in heaven does not want even one of these “little ones” to be lost.’
Let us ask God for the grace to rejoice in the salvation and all the graces of our brothers and sisters, and let us also ask for the grace never to scandalize the little ones of his kingdom.
Armand Veilleux