Second Sunday of Advent

Catechism Links [1]

CCC 522, 711-716, 722: The prophets and the expectation of the Messiah
CCC 523, 717-720: The mission of John the Baptist
CCC 710: Israel’s exile foreshadowed the Passion
CCC 2532, 2636: Paul’s solicitude
 

“Roman Road”
by Nicolas Poussin, 1648

Readings for the Second Sunday of Advent [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Baruch 5:1-9
 
Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery;
put on the splendor of glory from God forever:
wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,
bear on your head the mitre
that displays the glory of the eternal name.
For God will show all the earth your splendor:
you will be named by God forever
the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship.
 
Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights;
look to the east and see your children
gathered from the east and the west
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you:
but God will bring them back to you
borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones.
For God has commanded
that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
be filled to level ground,
that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.
The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
have overshadowed Israel at God’s command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
by the light of his glory,
with his mercy and justice for company.
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Commentary on Bar 5:1-9
This selection is the entire fifth chapter of the book of the Prophet Baruch. In it, the prophet rejoices over the restoration of Israel as a nation after the diaspora[5]. In Hebrew tradition, this can only be accomplished after the people have endured their punishment and returned to God’s favor. The author envisions the joy of their homecoming – a gift of God’s mercy, reestablishing them in the land he gave them.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psallm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
 
R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
 
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
 
Then they said among the nations,
  “The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
 
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
 
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
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Commentary on Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Psalm 126 is a lament. In this short psalm, the singer rejoices at the return of Israel following the Diaspora, the conquering of Israel and its enslavement. In this hymn, the people remember the greatness of God as he restores their nation and brings them back to their own land ("Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves"). The sense is one of being overflowing with thanksgiving.
 
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Reading II: Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
 
Brothers and sisters:
I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel
from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
God is my witness,
how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.
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Commentary on Phil 1:4-6, 8-11

This is part of the introduction to Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. In it, we hear Paul’s expectation that the second coming of Jesus, the Parousia will be soon - in their lifetimes. This creates an urgency to his encouragement that the Church at Philippi build themselves up in faith and understanding.  The key areas of his focus are on mutual love and compassion:"And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ."
 
CCC: Phil 1:3-4 2636; Phil 1:9-11 2632
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Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
 
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
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Commentary on Lk 3:1-6

In this selection, the Gospel of St. Luke introduces us to St. John the Baptist. John receives his call ("the word of God came to John") and responds to it, going about the region calling for repentance in the face of the imminent coming of the Messiah.
 
In the second part of the Book of Isaiah (chaps. 40-55), which is called the "Book of the Consolation of Israel," the Jewish people are told that they will once again suffer exile and a new exodus in which their guide will be, not Moses, but God himself; once again they will make their way through the desert to reach a new promised land. St Luke sees the preaching of the Baptist, who announces the arrival of the Messiah, as fulfilling this prophecy.[6]
 
CCC: Lk 3:3 535
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Reflection:
 
The first week of our advent season has passed and already the second candle, the Candle of Love, is lit – only two more to go!  The familiar Gospel from St. Luke introduces us to St. John the Baptist, whom we have heard of in Scripture previously only as the baby who leapt in the womb of Elizabeth, the Virgin Mary’s cousin, when they met after Jesus was conceived.  The Baptist comes now to fulfill his prophetic role.
 
The Baptist’s father, Zechariah, on the occasion of his naming, told us what he was and what he would be:  “you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76-77).
 
In the Old Testament prophecy (Malachi 3:23ff in other versions Malachi 4:5ff) the Jews were told, before the Messiah came, that Elijah the great prophet would come again.  St. John came in that role, as Elijah, exhorting the people to turn away from sin.  The Jews of that day did not want to see that truth.  They were happy in their expectant role, one that did not require them to fully embrace God’s law. They had time before they had to change.
 
So, St. John comes, as the Gospel proclaims, calling out to anyone who will listen.  His very first word we translate as repent. It’s close but the word he uses is Mετανοεῖτε or metanoia – which is more rigidly defined as change in one's way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion. Not just saying “I’m sorry for what I have done.” Rather a change in the way we motivate ourselves to live and act. He makes the same call recorded in the book of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3-5).  It is a call we have all heard before, or have we?
 
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
 
Those were the words.  They have been proclaimed regularly.  They are, for us, synonymous with the Baptist (though in St. Luke’s time the invitation would have signaled the return of Elijah).  They call us to take up a journey to the Lord.  We have listened to them, but have we heard them?
 
I was having a discussion with a friend the other day. He told me his wife was complaining, saying that he never listened to her.  “At least,” he told me, “that’s what I think she said.”
 
Like my friend, we have listened to the words, but hearing those words means we have taken them in and applied their meaning to our lives.  What does it mean, recalling that first word from the desert - Mετανοεῖτε?
 
“Prepare the way of the Lord
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.”
 
The analogy springs to mind of building a road.  In an earlier era, roads followed the contours of the land.   They took the path of least resistance, winding and turning as each obstacle was encountered.  These roads were difficult and often dangerous.  They frequently took us out of our way, doubling the distance needed to get from one point to another.  With the advent of the interstate highway system, a great effort was undertaken to make these routes straighter.  Earthmoving equipment was brought in to make the roads level so that there were no steep mountains that could stop us.  What many of us may not know is the alternate reason for some of these specifications.  The system was designed so that large aircraft could use them as emergency runways if needed.  They had to be straight and level to accomplish this secondary mission. (For any children listening who have seen the animated movie Cars, this was not a bad thing.)
 
So what does this mean for us?  What kind of road are we building?  Prepare it where, in what sense?  Does it mean prepare a way for the Lord in ourselves, in our personal lives?  Does it mean prepare a way for the Lord in the world at large?  These are two very different tasks.  One looks inward, inside ourselves, the other outward – into the world we live in.
 
This season is a time when we are asked to build both the road into our hearts and the road out into the world.  It is the great paradox of what the Lord asks us to do: be part of the world in order to transform it and separate from the world in order to avoid the sin that thrives there.  We build our roads with great effort.  Like the interstate highway, the obstacles we encounter – greed, vanity, and hatred – must be overcome. They are not to be just moved around. That is called situational ethics.  We must overcome them through prayer, through hearing the Word, not just listening to it. We must take it into our hearts and allow it to transform us, so that we become the road builders of Lord into the world.  We sharpen our skills, drawing upon sacramental grace offered in the Eucharist and reconciliation.
 
Let us take these words to heart and truly hear them, preparing a way for the Lord in ourselves and those we meet.  Let us make it straight and level so we may travel quickly to him, and him to us.
 
Pax
 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Roman Road” by Nicolas Poussin, 1648.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] 597 is considered the beginning date of the Jewish Diaspora. While Cyrus the Persian allowed the Judaeans to return to their homeland in 538 BC, most chose to remain in Babylon. A large number of Jews in Egypt became mercenaries in Upper Egypt on an island called the Elephantine. (Ancient Jewish History)
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 368.