Second Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 5
Reading 1
IS 40:1-5, 9-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14
R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Reading 2
2 PT 3:8-14
Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,”
but he is patient with you,
not wishing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.
Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,
what sort of persons ought you to be,
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
Alleluia
LK 3:4, 6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
MK 1:1-8
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Peace is realized through a life with Jesus Christ. It can be comforting to know that He is with us and that, regardless of what is confronted in our life, He is there to ensure that we can endure all trials and tribulations that are faced. Peace leads to a life lived in the moment and a greater appreciation of us being created out of love to love and be loved. When we contemplate peace, it can be realized that it comes with an ordering of all things. When God’s creation came into existence, everything had a purpose and a place within that creation. Even us, in our perfect state of innocence, were an intricate part of that creation, standing at the pinnacle of it, and serving as it stewards. At that moment, there was peace and purity. “ And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.” The perfect good creates only good and, through good, there is order and peace.
In our brokenness, our thoughts and actions tend not to work that way. There is an inclination to be discomforted by the lack of action. Society pushes us to focus on action, even in those instances where we feel that we are in a relaxed state. What would be considered leisure time becomes a pursuit of physical and mental stimulation which demands more action. There is a reaction to stimuli, bringing about more action: a pursuit of another feeling that causes one to go into action again. Where there is action, there is no peace. Peace is where movement ceases and there is silence. “Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46). The Apostle Peter mentions this as conducting ourselves with holiness and devotion. Holiness does not require action. It requires a lack thereof. It is like returning to our natural state of grace which was given to us when we were created. We were good. Pushing out all that is around us, all that is constantly barraging us with suggestions and influences, leaves us with only one thing: God. It is there that peace is encountered; when we interact with that which is perfect. Our thoughts can become ordered correctly. Where there is order, there is peace. From peace comes understanding and acceptance. It is written in the Book of Ecclesiastes that, There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.”
We cannot do or change everything. We cannot be the final dictate of everything that happens. There are some things within our control, while there are other things that are not. Sometimes, the best thing to do in a situation is absolutely nothing. Peter’s letter discusses the Divine Plan and how Christ will come again like a thief in the night. There is no need to have any anxiety or too much anticipation for that which will happen at a time unknown. Instead, we should live in the moment fully prepared for that moment in the future. Until that moment arrives, we should be comforted by this. Whatever is happening now is important, yet it will not compare to that which is yet to come. So, there is an expectation of future events and an understanding thereof, but not anxiety and a preoccupation with it. Present thoughts and actions are defined by it, but not overlooked or minimized because of it.
John the Baptist was the herald of someone even greater. As he spoke about the imminent coming of Jesus Christ, he was also performing a Baptism of Repentance. He was preparing the people for the coming, but he was also offering renewal and a recommitment to the faith. As the angel proclaimed, “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers towards children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” This renewal swept through Judea. It offered an opportunity of renewal and spiritual revival. It also ran countercultural to the Pharisaic Movement and Temple Culture of the time. John was passionate, faith-filled, and very charismatic. He was also on fire with the Holy Spirit. Many of those in positions of power were worried that he was readying a revolt against, not only the Romans, but the Jewish religious authorities also. Even though he spoke of the coming of Jesus, he was also emphasizing what the people had to do for a better life in the present, to live a better life and a life closer to God. The benefits were two-fold, and both were important for a truly great relationship with God. There would be someone greater coming, but there was also work to do on the self in the present to benefit those in the present. The future is important, but it does not outweigh the importance of the present. The work must be done in the present for the present and for the future, not just the future. On every journey, the destination does indeed matter, but not at the expense of the experience of the journey. Our God might be there at the end, but He is also walking with us. We can enrichen our lives by being comfortable with where we are and by confronting each day with the knowledge that God is with us. There will be some things that we do well and other things where we may fall short. Approaching these things with acceptance and understanding, will bring about a complacency which will lead to an inner peace where we can then truly be with God, partaking in an intimate relationship. It is within this relationship that we will discover more about ourselves and God. And to know God is to love God.
Deacon Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment