WATCHWORD:
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I commanded him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. Deuteronomy 18:15–19
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. 7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:6-7
34 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? 11 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. 12 I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. 13 I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. 14 Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice! Ezekiel 34:1-2, 11-16
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15
Meditation:
Simeon and Our Lord
His name was Simeon and he had lived in Jerusalem all of his life. As a child, he studied in the rabbinical school and as an adult he was a rabbi and a teacher of the law and the prophets. He often traveled to nearby towns to share his understanding of the scrolls to those interested. In that role, he often had questions regarding elements of the prophets that he answered with confidence, but more often than not, they raised his own unanswered questions. Those questions bordered on the great mystery of the Jewish Scriptures, unanswered, and unresolved over the centuries.
Ezekiel always puzzled him, for he saw himself as a teacher shepherding those who came to him for meaning of the sacred writings. What did it really mean that the Sovereign Lord would bring sorrow upon shepherds, such as himself? But even before Ezekiel, at the start of the mystery, in Genesis, with the appearance of the “Angel of the Lord”, often addressed as “Yahweh” and “The Lord”, and “Messiah”. Who was this? When would he come.
And that prophecy in Micah had all the Pharisees puzzled: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Bethlehem! That little town! When? That was all part of the mystery.
On this day, Simeon was in the temple when the young family came to him, the new-born baby in the arms of the mother. It was dedication time and as Simeon took the baby in his arms, he felt the movement of the Holy Spirit, and he praised God, and knew that there, in his arms, was the answer to the mystery.
We, on this side of the Resurrection, see through the mystery of the prophecies and know, at least this part of the story. Is there more to come? I suspect that we shall see, before we know.
We have our own mystery. What is meant by “eternal life”? What will Heaven be like? Will it be boring? Exciting? Will I be there? Will you? Lots of questions, no real answers except what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” So be it.
Bulletin Board:
Prayer reminder: We are all feeling the fatigue of the restrictions and the safety precautions that we must tolerate, and it is not easy. Thanksgiving, leading into Advent, and leading into the New Year, we sigh in resignation for we know what we must do, and we don’t like it, not one little bit. Yes, we are all going through this, but for some it is more difficult. What we must guard against is the sense of losing hope and a fading conviction that better times are ahead. So, in your prayers please include all those who because of where they live, are quarantined and restricted in their movements, for them there is just a bit more cause to feel down.
Prayers of Hope:
Lord, help me to hear you saying, “I am your hope” over all the other voices. Lord, your word says, you are the hope for hopeless so I’m running to you with both hands stretched out and grabbing on to you. Fill me up with hope and give me a tangible reminder today that hope is an unbreakable spiritual lifeline. God, you know those things in my heart that I barely dare to hope for, today I give them to you, I trust them to you, and ask that you because I know that you can do more than I could ever guess, imagine or request in wildest dreams. God, you are my hope and I trust you. Amen.
May the Lord show you the greatness of his goodness, that you overflow with thanks every day. May the Lord bless you abundantly with rest for the heart, power for virtue, wisdom for life, and patience in suffering. May the Lord bless you with joyful hope, and one day with the inexpressible joys of eternal life.
Almighty Lord God, give us true faith, and make that faith grow in us day by day. Also give us hope and love, so that we may serve our neighbors according to your will; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
