Second Sunday of Advent
Intention: That all people will embrace the story of the birth of the Christ Child as a time to increase our attention to the needs of children throughout the world.
Today’s 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.”
Reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent
The story of John the Baptist finds its way into the Gospel readings of Advent because its themes of anticipation and preparation so clearly echo the expectation motif of the nativity narratives. Something extraordinary is about to happen, something for which people must make themselves ready in a profound way. It will not be enough just to prepare to witness it, because it is going to demand a decisive and radical response from everyone it touches.
Advent’s anticipation is, like that of John, of the start of something transcendent. The arrival of Jesus opens the door to a new time for creation, one that reconciles humanity to God and brings the redemption of liberation and fulfillment. To prepare for the coming of Christ is to prepare to take up our roles as participants in the building of the Kingdom of God. Our salvation is here, but it also is not yet, and so we both rejoice in what God has done and welcome what God now calls us to do. This is the real source of our Christmas joy: God’s reign is in motion.
And so, we continue on our Advent journey with joy and also with determination. In discipleship, we hope to become more like the One we follow, and more like the Kingdom we seek. As author and theologian Fredrick Buechner wrote in The Magnificent Defeat, “Bethlehem is not the end of our journey but only the beginning – not home but the place through which we must pass if ever we are to reach home at last.”
Prayer
Eternal Father, so many times the confusion and turmoil of this world leave us feeling distant from you. We wander through our own wilderness in search of you. Help us to be awake to the signs of your presence in one another and always ready to recognize you in all of the ways in which you are with us. In this Advent time, let us be voices of your good news, especially for all who await their deliverance from suffering and the light of your redemption. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.