The oratorio, entitled "The Messiah" by George Frideric Handel, is often heard during Advent, and some of its most memorable arias are based on the text of Isaiah which we hear proclaimed today: "Comfort ye, Comfort ye my people" as well as "Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain made low."

What is so remarkable is the fact that it comes from a prophet who elsewhere spoke prophecies of destruction and doom, who chastised Israel for its failures and sinfulness, and predicted the consequences the nation would suffer as a result. In our passage today, however, his words are filled with tenderness as he offers hope and encouragement to a people in exile, to begin the journey back home and leave behind all that they have suffered, all that had enslaved them. We also need to break out of our own negativity and the state of discouragement and sense of powerlessness. The voice of Isaiah accompanies us throughout Advent, and provides us with the encouragement and the stimulus to our imaginations we need to enter more deeply into the journey we must make. Moreover, we have a shepherd who looks for us when we are lost, leaving the other ninety-nine who are not lost. He guides us on our journey to greater freedom. He gathers us together to His heart and carries us home.