SUNDAY REFLECTIONS 2nd Sunday of ADVENT (04 December 2011) Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11;
2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8
We are in the season of Advent, a time of waiting for the Lord who will be coming
to us. As much as we are waiting for him and place our hope in him we can imagine
how much more God is waiting and hoping for each of us personally to come to him.
It is the time when God comes to earth as a human person and chooses to live among
us. It is the time when God shares his love with us as we should share our love with
Him and among ourselves. Advent prepares us to welcome the arrival of God who became
man and who by his example showed how we should share his love with our neighbours.
The readings of today tell us about the concern of God for his people and at the same
time admonish the people to prepare the way spiritually for the coming of the Lord.
Prophet Isaiah tells us that God is ready to intervene in history for the sake of
human kind because he is concerned about them. In this passage normally known as the
poem of consolation, God shows how he cares for each person individually. God extends
his hand of healing to the weary people who are exhausted and he gives them the needed
repose. In the second reading Peter speaking strongly against those who denied the
second coming of Christ says that the day of the Lord will come in good time and Jesus
will come to establish his kingdom of kindness, truth, justice and peace in a new
heaven and new earth. The Gospel of today invites us to prepare the way of the Lord,
just as John the Baptist did by proclaiming his coming to all. He called them to prepare
the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. He proclaimed the Baptism of repentance
and announced the coming of Jesus who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. The
vision of what can happen for those who live by God’s word is contained in the first
reading of today. Here prophet Isaiah renews his appeal to trust in the Lord their
God and invites the people to come home to the Promised Land. The dominant theme
contained in this passage is comfort to a weary people. Years of exile in Babylon
had weakened them spiritually. The Prophet encourages them to rekindle the faded
memories of their homeland and believe that God still has a plan for them and wants
them to return. The double message of comfort is the perfect cure for the double service
the people have endured for their past sins. Prophet Isaiah in the passage speaks
of the earlier call he had to pronounce verdict against the people. Now he hears a
voice calling him to say God prepares a highway for them in the desert. The way will
be level with no elevations or depressions to impede their progress as they make their
way back to Israel. Then the oracle shifts the outlook from Babylon to the former
kingdom of David. Jerusalem and the cities of David hear the good news that God is
drawing near, leading the once scattered flock of Israel back to familiar pastures.
The Good Shepherd so unlike the shepherds of old nourishes the flock and carries the
sheep in his arms. The Second Reading, from the Second Letter of Peter, reminds
us, on the one hand, of God's great desire to come into our lives and, on the other,
of the need to be prepared for that coming when it happens. Although people sometimes
complain that God seems oblivious to their needs, the Letter reminds us that the Lord
is not being slow to carry out his promises. We cannot accuse Jesus for his delay
in his coming. On the contrary, he is being patient with all, wanting nobody to be
lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways. He is really time for people
to repent. Peter wants his disciples to understand that the time with God is different
from our knowledge of time. Certainly, people want God's help and comfort but they
are not prepared to change their ways, not prepared for a genuine conversion. The
author assures us that there will be an end of the world as we know it. He speaks
of the heavens and the elements being dissolved by fire. His point is that all that
is not holy will be destroyed and there will be a new creation. It is important therefore
to let God’s holiness and love take over our lives. In order that we allow God to
come to us we must also show the desire to go to him. Peter says that those who are
constantly in the company of their Lord will be at peace in spite of storms raging
around them. For them, the Day of the Lord holds no fears. While they are waiting
for the Lord, they must do their best to live lives without spot or stain so that
Jesus will find them at peace. The Gospel today is the beginning of the Good News
according to Mark. The opening verse sets the theme for his Gospel: "The beginning
of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." This sets the stage for all
that follows in the entire Gospel. Mark tells us that this is the beginning of the
story of Jesus which commences with his life and his ministry but continues on to
include our own time. That is the story he wants to tell, or rather, the good news
he wants to proclaim, gradually unfolding identity of the man Jesus as the Son of
God. This opening verse is also the profession of faith. These words fling us right
into the middle of Jesus’ reason for coming into the world. In the Gospel Mark tells
us that the story of Jesus did not begin with his birth on earth but began in the
mind of God long before. Mark tells us that he believes Jesus is the Messiah, the
Christ, the anointed one and he is divine, that is he is Son of God. Mark's presentation
is one of a gradually unfolding identity of the man Jesus. Hence the Gospel presents
the picture of a gradual revelation of Jesus built upon strong faith affirmations
which but a pagan soldier at the foot of the cross say that Jesus is truly the Son
of God. Mark reminds us that he is presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The central
figure in today's Word of God is John the Baptist and he is presented as one who is
preparing the way of the Lord. He does so by speaking to the people of the coming
of Jesus as he begins his public life and his mission and at the same time invites
them to prepare themselves to welcome him. The story proper begins with the appearance
of John the Baptist at the river Jordan with his role as a preacher and baptizer.
He comes as a prophet who is proclaiming the word of God and gives a new message to
the people. He is presented as a person who had already become a famous in his own
right. That is clear from the number of people who came out to see him and that he
attracted the attention of King Herod and of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. He
led a very austere life starting from the desert, dressed in rough clothes made of
camel skin and had a poor man’s diet. There were no special designer clothes for him.
He fed on locusts and wild honey and fasted as well. John clearly presented himself
as a man of God and the people admired and trusted him as a person of holiness and
integrity. This may have caused people to think that he might be the messiah. He was
a man of remarkable austerity; his appearance among them was sudden befitting the
sign of messiah who would come from nowhere, his mighty voice that shook them from
their slumber and listless attitude. At the same time he lived a totally self-sacrificing
life combined with humility. He gave them the message of the kingdom of God and baptized
them. John’s message was present not only in his words but also in his whole life.
The man was the message. The time of Jesus would be the time of elegance and the messenger
was present to make the paths straight, to fill the valleys and cutting into hills.
He was like the herald who would precede the king on a journey, to announce to the
inhabitants of the arrival of the King and make smooth the ill-kept roads. He was
indeed different from the other preachers of their time. He taught them with courage
and bluntly made them aware of their sinfulness. His essential message was one of
repentance. The word Repent here does not mean just being sorry for the past or
the performance of penance. It is a call for them to do much more than that, to change
their ways, to have a change of heart. To repent in the Gospel involves a radical
transformation in our way of living. It means a conversion, a real turning around,
a re-directing of one's whole life. The outward sign of his preaching and ministry
was baptism in the river Jordan. It was just an external sign and the Jews were fully
aware of such symbolism of ritual washing. There is a further reflection we might
make today concerning the role of John the Baptist. For he should help us to reflect
that there have been many John the Baptists in our own lives, many people who have
helped us to find Jesus, to know, love and serve him better. A second point is that
John the Baptist reminds us that we, too, have a responsibility to proclaim the Good
News of the coming of Jesus and to help people know and love him and experience his
love in their lives just as other people have brought us to where we are. It is not
easy in our society to find Jesus and to accept his values and vision of life. The
Gospel of today shows us that the advent of Jesus must be understood as a part of
God’s saving plan. God fulfilled the plan he had for us when creation began. He
raised us to the dignity of divine sonship by the incarnation and made us inherit
the kingdom of God. John the Baptist emerges here as the immediate precursor of Jesus.
Mark attributes this prophecy to Isaiah but in fact it also combines phrases from
the Exodus and the prophet Malachi. By combining the Old Testament texts Mark shows
that John the Baptist brings together the Old Testament tradition of promise for which
Jesus is the fulfilment. As precursor, John prepares the people by calling them to
reorient their lives and turn back to God. This is symbolized by the proclamation
of the Baptism of repentance. Mark also wants the reader to make the connection between
John the Baptist and Elijah, another great Old Testament prophet who called Israel
to repentance and was expected to return before the advent of the Messiah. John does
what Elijah did and he looks as if he is presenting the ways of Elijah. Mark’s
story was in fact the greatest good news that man had ever received on earth. It
is still the greatest, most astounding and at the same time most consoling news for
us today. We know that Jesus has come into history and will come again to accept us
all unto himself. But just as there were those in Palestine who did not accept Christ’s
claim to be what he manifested himself to be, for as John tells us that he came unto
his own and his own did not receive him, so also today many are unwilling to believe
in him and receive him. The Evangelists tell us that that it was their stubborn pride
and self-centeredness, the exaggerated sense of their own dignity and perfection,
which blinded the eyes of the intellectuals. The result was that they could not see
in Jesus their Messiah and their savior. He became human person like us so that he
could teach us how valuable God made us and how important we are to him. Today the
world that has developed so much and is experiencing progress every day make people
feel that they do not need God and they have everything explained in the universe.
Indeed the Good News given to us today open our eyes to the reality of a God who cares
for us and is concerned about us. On this second Sunday of Advent we continue our
preparations for the coming of Jesus. That is, we are preparing to celebrate his coming
among us as a new-born baby in Bethlehem. Therefore, it is a special time for us to
remember with deep gratitude God's great love for us. The Word of God reminds us
that God so loved the world that he sent his only Son for our sake that we may have
life through him. Again he is the Word was made flesh and came to live among us. The
coming of the Lord does not fill his friends with fear and anxiety but rather with
a kind of joyful anticipation of one friend to another. The fruit of everyday living
the Way of Jesus is a real interior peace that makes us ready to meet him at any time.
He invites us to reflect and examine our conscience to see the place of God in our
life. The advent is a time for preparation, to straighten the path and fill the valleys
and make full preparation for the one who is going to come into our lives. Our God
is a waiting God and he is eagerly waiting for our invitation in order to enter into
our lives. He is a God of patience and is ready to wait in love. Let us reflect then
at this time on what changes we should make in our own lives, not just now but in
the year to come, to be the kind of persons, God would like us to be. The message
from today's readings tells us to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
With the approaching of Christmas, the day when we will be celebrating the incarnation
of God on earth, we are reminded how the people of the Old Testament waited for the
arrival of Baby Jesus as the promised Messiah. Through the New Testament readings,
we are reminded of the patience of the Lord in His second and final coming that will
serve the purpose of our salvation, the Lord not wanting any to perish. It is true
that we must work so that the “new heavens and new earth” begin to take shape here
on earth; but such intense prayer “does not distract us from our commitment to history:
by opening our heart to the love of God it also opens it to the love of our brothers
and sisters, and makes us capable of shaping history according to God´s plan.” Holiness
and prayer are the beginning and the essential precondition of any Christian action
in the world. One day, a man was walking along the shore. As he looked down the
beach, he saw a young person reaching down to the sand, picking up something and very
gently throwing it back into the sea. As he got closer, he called out, "Good morning!
What are you doing?" The young person paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish
into the sea." Why are you throwing starfish into the sea?" he asked. "The sun is
up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in they'll die." "But, don't
you realize that there are miles of beach here and starfish all along it. You can't
possibly make a difference!" The young person listened politely. Then knelt down,
picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and
said..."Made a difference to this one." Fr. Eugene Lobo S.J.