2014-12-05 09:07:00

2nd Sunday of Advent – December 7, 2014


Is 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8  

A man once owned a large and expensive clock crafted in Switzerland. He kept the clock in a window, where it was seen by passersby who set their watches by it. But something was wrong with the clock. Its hands habitually showed the wrong time. So the man spent considerable energy every day in turning the clock’s hands to the right positions. This went on for several years, which kept the owner weary. One day someone suggested, “Instead of wasting your energy in correcting the hands, why don’t you fix the clock’s inner parts?” “What a tremendous idea!” the owner exclaimed in astonishment and delight. “I never thought of that!” God did not intend to make a few cosmetic changes by sending Christ into the world. God intended nothing less than to change the whole dynamic of human character. That’s why each Advent we encounter this strange character, John the Baptist, with his call to repentance.

Today’s readings remind us that the past, present and future comings of Jesus into the world are the fulfillment of the saving plan of God. Today’s Scripture readings deal with coming home – Babylonian exiles coming home, the shalom or perfect peace of coming home,  our going home with Jesus at his second coming  and Jesus, the Savior, coming home into our lives during Advent.  All three readings focus on the absolute necessity of our readying ourselves by repentance and reparation for Christ’s coming.  In the first reading, Isaiah assures his people that the Lord will restore their homeland to them and care for them as a shepherd cares for the sheep. Today’s Responsorial Psalm also speaks of the return of shalom (perfect peace), and pardon to the people.   The second reading gives an answer to those who scoff at the expectation of the second coming of Christ, explaining that  God’s way of reckoning time is different from ours and that God has His own reasons for delaying Christ’s second coming. Peter gives us the assurance that Jesus is sure to come again although we do not know when.   Hence, while we wait, we should be leading lives of holiness and godliness. Finally, the Gospel tells us that the restoration of the fallen world has already begun, starting with the arrival of John the Baptist, the messenger and forerunner of the Messiah. John speaks of one, more powerful than he – Jesus Christ – who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. Each of us has received the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism, and now we live in the Spirit each day, waiting for the return of our Lord. Thus, we become John the Baptist's successors, preparing for Christ's return which will bring a new and perfect world.

The first reading: Isaiah consoles the Jews in exile in Babylon, giving them Yahweh’s assurance that their 60 years of Babylonian captivity will end soon and that they will be going home as free people. He assures them that they will be brought back to Israel by the power of God. Isaiah is not shy about saying that the Exile was a punishment for sin. But Israel’s sins are forgiven now, and the exile is over. Isaiah wants the people to consider their return journey as their second Exodus, with Yahweh once more their loving Father and faithful Shepherd. He describes God's marvelous love for the undeserving.  If Yahweh is now their Redeemer rather than their punisher, then their relationship with Yahweh also has to change.   Isaiah instructs the exiles that they are to return home in a   grand religious procession, with God leading them. To pave the way for this procession, valleys and mountains are to be leveled, and a highway is to be created in the wilderness. God will lead them to Judah and, within Judah, to the city of Jerusalem and, within Jerusalem, to Zion, the hill where their Temple had stood. Seeing the procession in his mind, the prophet exclaims with joy, “Here comes your God with power!" Then he presents the tender picture of God leading the exiles as a shepherd cradles lambs.

Isaiah originally spoke these words in the 6th century BC.  On one level they were fulfilled when Persia conquered Babylon, and those who had been exiled from Judah to Babylon were allowed to return home.  God first accomplished the salvation proclaimed by Isaiah by leading the exiles back from Babylon.  However, on a deeper level this word foretold the coming of Jesus.  The words of Isaiah about the "voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths,'" were a prediction of John the Baptist.  He was calling upon people to prepare for the coming of the Lord.  And the Lord was Jesus who brought about true liberation from the bondage of sin for all mankind.  It is because of this deeper meaning of the prophet's words that this reading has been chosen for Advent.

Second Reading: Taken from the second letter of Peter), this reading makes it clear that the salvation promised by Isaiah was not completely accomplished even by the first coming of Jesus.  It is only when Jesus comes again at the end of time that Isaiah's words will be entirely fulfilled. Hence, Peter warned against false teachers who had given up any expectation of   Christ’s return because of its long delay. As the years rolled by, non-Christians began ridiculing those Christians who still expected Christ’s second coming. A few Christians, in fact, began to believe that it would never happen. They laughed at what they thought was error and delusion.  So Peter reminded them that even though Christ seemed to delay his second coming, he would fulfill his promise.   Peter also told them that God doesn't reckon time the way we do since, to Him “one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day” (Psalm 90). In other words, since the risen Lord is eternal and infinite, he is not restricted or measured by time. Besides, God wants to give us more time to repent of our sins and renew our lives. The longer Christ waits for his second coming the more people will have an opportunity to be converted and take part in his glory. So Peter assures his people that Christ will keep his promise. That is why we say in the Nicene Creed, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end.” We, then, are expected to wait, leading lives of holiness and godliness. We should be holy in conduct and devotion, being "eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace." 

Exegesis:  The context:  While Matthew and Luke start their Gospels by giving us a brief account of the conception, birth, and early boyhood of Christ and John begins his Gospel by pointing to the eternal life of Christ as the Word of the Father, Mark opens his Gospel with the preparation for Christ's public life, in which the chief actor is John the Baptist. This wilderness prophet proclaims the "here-ness" of an event and person every Jew was anticipating. "One more powerful than I," John announces, "is to come after me....I have baptized you in water; He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit."   The essence of the Baptizer’s message is “repent and return to the ways of the Lord.”  He preaches that the appropriate behavior for those preparing "the way of the Lord" is to be baptized "as they confess their sins."

Malachi’s view of the mission of the Messiah: “I send my messenger before you and he will prepare your road for you” Mark cites Isaiah as his source for the whole of the quotation with which his Gospel opens. This first sentence appeared originally in the prophecy of Malachi (Malachi 3:1). In its original context, it was a threat and warning from God to the Temple priests.  In those days, the priests were living lazy lives and were failing in their duty by offering the blemished and the second-best as sacrifices to Yahweh. Hence, the messenger was to cleanse and purify the worship of the Temple before the Anointed One of God emerged upon the earth. Coupled with Isaiah’s “voice crying in the wilderness,” however, the prophecy becomes an invitation to all Israel to prepare for the coming of the Messiah whom John would announce. So Malachi anticipates the mission of John the Baptist as one of purification.  John gives the Jews some down-to-earth advice on changing their lives for the better. He wants them (and us as well), to fill in the valleys of prejudice, level the mountains of pride and straighten out the crooked paths of injustice. Preparing a way for God in our hearts is a time-consuming and costly business. It demands our listening to what God is saying to us and then making changes in our behavior. Welcoming God also involves removing all blockages and obstacles which keep Him from coming close to us.

Repent and return to the Lord – the priorities set by John: John recommended a baptism of repentance in the river Jordan to the Jews who were familiar with ritual and symbolic washings (Lev.11-15).  The Jews insisted that when a male Gentile became a Jew, he had to do three things: i) accept circumcision as the mark of the covenant people; ii) offer sacrifice because he stood in need of atonement, and iii)  undergo baptism by immersion in water, which symbolized his cleansing from all  pollution. The most amazing thing about John's baptism was that he, a Jew, was asking fellow-Jews to submit to that which only a Gentile was supposed to need. John was convinced of the truth that even the chosen people needed true repentance and renewal of life to receive their long-awaited Messiah. The baptism of a Gentile was accompanied by a confession made to three different recipients as a sign of repentance for sin.  (i) A man must make confession to himself because the first step in repentance is to admit his sin to himself.   (ii) He must make confession to those whom he has wronged.  This involves humiliation and is a test of real repentance since there can be no forgiveness without humiliation.   (iii) He must make confession to God because it is when a man says, "I have sinned," that God gets the chance to say, "I forgive."  

John's message calls us also to confront and confess our sins; to turn away from them in sincere repentance; to receive God's forgiveness; and most importantly, to look to Jesus. Do we need to receive God's forgiveness? There are basically two reasons why we fail to receive forgiveness. The first is that we fail to repent, and the second is that we fail to forgive. Jesus was very explicit about this second failure in Matthew 6:14-15. He says, "For if you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Is there someone we need to forgive today? Let us not allow what others have done destroy our life. We can't be forgiven unless we forgive. Let us let go of that bitterness and allow God to work healing in our life. Perhaps we need to draw closer to Him. Like the prodigal son’s father, God will run to meet us. He will throw His arms around us and He will forgive us and restore us. He will receive us as His sons and daughters. Let us draw close to Him today, and He will draw close to us.

The effectiveness of John’s ministry: John’s ministry was effective primarily because his life was his message:  he lived what he preached. He was a man from the desert. In its solitude, he had heard the voice of God, and, hence, he had the courage of his convictions. His camel’s hair garment and leather belt resembled those of Elijah and other great prophets of Israel. His food, too, was very simple:  wild locusts and honey. The Israelites had not had a prophet for four hundred years, and the people were waiting expectantly for one.  John’s message was effective also because he was completely humble.   His role was to serve Jesus and to serve the people. "He must increase, I must decrease," he says elsewhere (John 3:30). That is why he publicly confessed that he was not fit to be a slave before the Messiah. He frankly admitted that he was the Messiah’s humble and obedient messenger, preparing a straight way for the Messiah in the hearts and lives of the Jews. His message combined three Scriptural passages familiar to the Jews, namely, Exodus 23:20, Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. That is why John's influence continued to live on after his death.  When the apostle Paul went to Ephesus nearly 30 years later, he found a group of John's disciples (Acts 19:1-7).

Life messages: 1) We need to make use of Advent as a season of reflection and preparation. We are invited by the Church to prepare for Christmas. Christmas is the time for reflection and personal renewal in preparation for the coming of Jesus into our lives.  Through his letter today St. Peter reminds us, on the one hand, of God's great desire to come into our lives and, on the other, of our need to be prepared for that event when it happens. We want God's help and comfort, but we are not always prepared to change our ways to enhance genuine conversion. For God to come to us, we also need to go to Him. We need to let every day become Christmas and the “Day of the Lord” for each one of us.

2) Do we accept Jesus or reject him during this Christmas season? It was their stubborn pride and self-centeredness, which blinded the eyes of the Jews and kept them from recognizing Jesus as their long awaited Messiah. The same stubborn pride, the same exaggerated sense of our own dignity, blinds the intellects of many of us today who not only fail to accept Christ and His good tidings, but also prevent others from accepting him. The mad rush for earthly possessions and pleasures, the casting-off of all the reasonable restraints and restrictions which are so necessary for the survival of human society, the rejection of all things spiritual in man's make-up, the general incitement of the animal instincts in man – all these are  signs of the rejection of Christ. Let us accept Jesus as our personal savior and Lord during this Christmas season and remain, or become, true Christians in our daily conduct.  Let us use these days of preparation for Christmas to ready ourselves for his daily coming and his Second Coming, remembering that it will occur for each one of us on the day of our death.

3) We need to become preachers of the Good News:  John’s preaching reminds us also of our important task of announcing Christ to others through our lives at home and in the community. When we show real love, kindness, mercy and a spirit of forgiveness, we are announcing the truth that Christ is with us. Thus, our lives become a kind of Bible which others can read. John the Baptist invites us to turn this Advent season into a real spiritual homecoming by making the necessary preparations for the arrival of the Savior and his entrance into our lives.

A monk was passing along a dangerous and deserted highway. He came across a wounded man with high fever lying helplessly on the roadside. The monk took compassion on him and began to take care of him. He cleaned his wounds and tied them with medicinal leaves; he shared his food with him and spent the night taking care of him. The following morning the man was a little better and he was able to proceed on his own. When the monk was about to take leave, the stranger turned towards the monk and said to him, “Sir, you do not know who I am – neither my name, nor my race or caste or language, yet you bound my wounds, shared your food and spent the night taking care of me. Tell me, what made you do all these things for me?” Then the monk replied, “The Lord who created me said, ‘What you do to the least of your brethren, you do it for Me.’ You are my brother. What I had have done for you, I have done for my Lord.” Then the man said, “Sir who is your God. If your God makes you do all these things to a stranger, then I need that God. Give your God to me.” The monk paved the way for God in that man’s life. It is said that a saint is one who makes it easy for others to believe in God.

(Source: Homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil) 








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