In today’s first reading from Isaiah 40, Isaiah is told, “Cry out!” He answers to the voice, “What shall I cry out?” We’ll talk about it in a moment. In today’s Gospel from Matthew 18, Jesus tells about the guy who has 100 sheep, and one gets lost. So he leaves the 99 behind to go look for the one. Jesus says, “In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”
When Isaiah asks, “What shall I cry out?”, here is what he is told. “All flesh is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. So then, the people is the grass. Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever.” So then, the people is the grass. Interesting concept, huh? But the way we look at grass and treat grass today is far different from that time. But perhaps the results are similar. Here’s what I mean…
In today’s modern culture, we’re all about grass. We sod our yards, water and fertilize the stuff, so it grows taller and greener. Just so that we can cut it. And cut it again. And again, and again…No matter how much we fuss with it, eventually it is going to die. Oh, we can prolong its life many years. So it is with us. Medical science can prolong our lives for decades. But eventually we, too, will die. So then, the people is the grass. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Father, help us to remember that we are but grass, that our time on this earth is limited. Give us the grace to live fully each and every day you give us. Amen.
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