Kingdom Task: Surrender to the Shepherd
Tuesday, 2nd week in Advent, 2016
Is 40:1-11; Mt 18: 12-14
The imagery that is common to both the readings today is that of the Shepherd. The shepherd who is promised by the Lord through Isaiah and the Shepherd who is presented as a model by Jesus. The promise is the Shepherd will carry you... I was reminded of that icon we have been seeing for one whole year... the icon of the year of mercy, where Christ the Shepherd carried Adam on His shoulder. Explaining its significance the Holy Father said, the Shepherd is ready and willing to carry us; are we willing to allow ourselves to be carried?
The message to Israel through Isaiah and to us today is the same: allow yourself to be carried. From drudgery of life to fullness of life; from a world of compromises to a world of true convictions; from a culture of death to an experience of resurrection... allow yourself to be carried. The Shepherd is just round the corner, get set.