6 December 2025
Guided by the Voice of the Shepherd
All week,
Isaiah has been helping us understand what God does when He comes close to His people:
He brings new life…
He heals and restores…
He opens our eyes to see what we could not see before…
And today,
Isaiah adds another beautiful truth:
The God who comes to save us
also comes to guide us.
He says:
“Your eyes shall see your teacher, and your ears shall hear a
word behind you: ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”
Advent reminds us that God is not far away.
He is not watching from a distance.
He draws near like a teacher, a shepherd, a guide,
showing us the right path
and walking with us along it.
And what a comfort that is.
Because life is full of crossroads.
We often face choices about how to live,
what to value,
how to treat others,
and who to trust.
And sometimes we simply do not know which way to go.
Isaiah promises:
We will hear the Lord’s voice saying,
“This is the way.”
In the Gospel,
Jesus is not sitting in a distant temple.
He is walking from town to town…
looking at crowds…
noticing their exhaustion…
feeling their heartache.
Matthew tells us:
“His heart was moved with compassion for them, because
they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a
shepherd.”
Sheep without a shepherd wander.
They are vulnerable.
They get lost easily.
They grow tired and afraid.
Jesus sees us the same way,
not with frustration or judgment,
but with compassion.
He doesn’t just see lost sheep.
He sees beloved sheep,
in need of a voice,
in need of direction,
in need of hope.
Isaiah says,
“You will hear a word behind you…”
We hear that voice:
- when Scripture touches our heart,
- when conscience nudges us toward the good,
- when the Holy Spirit interrupts us before we make a bad choice,
- when mercy feels stronger than anger,
- when peace replaces fear.
not always loudly
but clearly enough for the listening heart.
Advent is when we practice listening.
We quiet the noise.
We slow down.
We make room inside
so the Lord’s voice can be heard again:
“This is the way; walk in it.”
Once the disciples have experienced the Shepherd’s voice,
Jesus does something surprising:
He sends them out.
He shares His own mission with them:
“Cure the sick,
raise the dead,
cleanse lepers,
drive out demons.”
In other words:
Do what I do.
Bring my love where it is missing.
Bring healing where there is hurt.
Bring hope where there is fear.
Being His disciples,
they would not have questioned this
because they knew that disciples followed their master so that they could be like him:
do the things he does,
teach the things he does,
and live the way he does.
If Jesus didn’t think they could
He would not have allowed them to follow Him.
So it is not enough merely to follow the Shepherd —
He wants us to become shepherds for others.
Every act of patience, kindness, forgiveness, and sacrifice
is a way God guides someone else through you.
Advent begins with God coming to us…
and continues with God sending us.
Today, the Church also celebrates Saint Nicholas,
a bishop known for his generosity, compassion,
and deep love for those in need.
He lived out exactly what Jesus does in the Gospel:
he saw those who were troubled or abandoned,
and his heart was moved to help them.
Many stories about Saint Nicholas focus on how he quietly helped families,
rescued the poor from danger,
and protected children.
But at the heart of all of it was something simple:
he listened to Jesus, his Shepherd,
and he became a shepherd for others.
He allowed the Lord to guide his steps,
and he followed that voice with acts of charity and courage.
Saint Nicholas shows us
that when we really hear God saying,
“This is the way; walk in it,”
we do not keep God’s love for ourselves,
we share it.
Every gift God gives us is meant to be shared.
All of it.
Like Saint Nick,
we can make Advent come alive for others
through kindness, generosity, and mercy.
It doesn’t have to be dramatic.
Often the smallest acts of love
are the clearest signs that Jesus is guiding us.
The Shepherd’s voice always says both:
“Come to Me.”
and
“Go for Me.”
That is Advent.
It is not simply waiting,
but moving.
Not simply preparing,
but responding.
Not simply receiving,
but sharing.
Let us listen for His voice today,
and walk in the way He shows us.