Year B

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

The first reading is a story meant to explain the antagonism among human beings as well as the struggle they experience against evil. The story is set in primeval time in order to show that such antagonism and struggle are universal and perennial. This is a story about sin and its consequences. Contrary to artistic representations of Mary as the Immaculate Conception, it is the woman’s offspring, not the woman herself, who will be in constant conflict with the offspring of the serpent. According to this story, human beings might have to struggle with evil, but they will not be conquered by it.

Paul insists that believers were not chosen because they were holy and blame less, but that they might be holy and blameless. In other words, salvation is the cause of and not the reward for righteousness. We do not earn it, it is given to us. Furthermore, it is through Christ, the only real Son of God, that others can become God’s adopted children. The reading begins and ends with praise of God. Regardless of when believers may be called, they are called to praise God’s glory. Adoption, redemption, and forgiveness of sin are the primary reasons for praising God’s glory.

Reading the account of the promise of the conception of Jesus on the feast of the conception of Mary has led to great confusion. However, the Gospel story is explicitly about Mary, not Jesus. She has been chosen to be the mother of God. As the first reading reminds us, all human beings struggle with sin and its consequences. At issue is not the question of a virgin being a mother, but of a vulnerable human being bearing the Son of God. This feast assures us that Mary was “full of grace,” God’s “favored one.” We were chosen and made holy after Christ’s resurrection; she was chosen and made holy in anticipation of it. God’s plan for the whole world is now being accomplished.

Jan 29 2025

Roadwork in Progress

I remember hearing about a little boy coming home from church and being asked what the preacher had spoken about. The church used the King James Version of the scriptures and the preacher had spent some time on the reading from Isaiah we heard today. But that translation began: “Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God.” In response to his parents’ inquiry, the child said, “It was just lovely. The priest told us how God is saying, ‘Come to tea, come to tea, my people.’ ”

While Isaiah’s message today is certainly comforting, with God telling the prophet to speak tenderly and tell an exiled people that all is forgiven, that the punishment for sin has run its course, these words are not the equivalent of an invitation to a relaxing cup of tea. Now as then, they serve as an invitation to get to work, to remove any obstacle that prevents God from coming into our hearts. This means that we have to get our hearts into shape, and our voices have to become willing to announce that God lives and comes with power to save.

John the Baptist remains a model for us today. He spoke out boldly, calling people to prepare a way for the Lord, which was a call to conversion and inner transformation. We are to take in this same message, first as listeners, then as heralds ourselves, witnessing to family, friends, and any who will listen that Jesus desires to come more fully into our lives.

Consider/Discuss

Do you accept God’s commission to work at preparing a way for the Lord?
What does it mean today to be a herald, a proclaimer of the gospel?

Responding to the Word

Loving God, you come to us with compassion, mercy, and forgiveness, but at times we set up barriers that prevent your entry into our hearts. Teach us how to prepare a way for you so you have access into our lives. May Jesus, who is the way, show us the way. Amen.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

The second major section of Isaiah tells the people to prepare for the com ing of their God by removing any obstacle that might prevent God’s approach or obstruct the view of God’s glory that onlookers might enjoy. A second directive is given to people living within the broken and desolate city of Jerusalem. They too are to be heralds of good news, announcing that the mighty, victorious God is coming to them. In both cases, the people are directed to act out their release even before they have tangible evidence of it, suggesting that future events are being accomplished in the present. The people’s faith in this prophetic word is itself the strongest evidence of their deliverance.

The author of Second Peter insists that despite the long delay, the Day of the Lord will indeed come. Its timing, like that of a thief in the night, is unpredict able. Therefore, the Christians should not grow weary of waiting, nor should they become careless. As God has been patient in the face of their sinfulness, so they must be patient in the face of God’s apparent delay. The author of the letter then employs apocalyptic imagery to describe the dissolution of everything, both the heavens and the earth. Finally, behavior that suits one who stands in anticipation of the salvation that is to come is addressed briefly but succinctly.

Mark’s Gospel points to the new beginning of God’s manifestation to all. He interweaves the words of the prophets Malachi (3:1, 23) and Isaiah (40:3; cf. Exodus 23:20). By using these two references to identify John the Baptist, he identifies the prophetic authority of the man whose austere life and exacting message may have appeared too demanding to be accepted by some. John got the attention of the crowds, but he quickly deflected it from himself, pointing instead to Jesus, the long-awaited one. John’s appearance, his message, and his baptism all announced that the reign of God was about to appear.

Jan 29 2025

Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones

Are you a watcher? Some are people watchers. I remember a former teacher of mine saying how he liked to sit by the window in a restaurant or, if the day was nice, on a park bench, and just watch people go by. It served as a reminder of God’s infinite imagination in creating us. Or, perhaps you are a clock-watcher, checking your watch frequently, even searching to find a clock whenever you enter an unfamiliar place. Clock-watchers tend to be on time and are especially appreciated when running meetings.

Advent calls us to be watchers, but neither of clocks nor of people merely passing by. We are called to be watchers for the Lord’s return. Now this might not seem as interesting as watching people, or as practical as watching the clock, or even as likely to get results, but its importance is on a deeper level. We are called to take seriously Jesus’ promise that he will return and that we are to live now in light of that return, that is, to live in the light this promise offers us for our lives.

As we watch for the Lord’s return in glory, we might catch glimpses of him more frequently here and now because he returns more often than we might suspect, but we miss it because we are not watching for it. So when we hear Jesus commanding his disciples, “Be watchful! Be alert!” this holds for us today—and tomorrow.

Consider/Discuss

Are you a watcher? Of what?
In your watching, have you had any experiences of kairos time, those moments of grace when you felt the presence of God, of Christ, of the Holy Spirit?
Can you become more watchful and grow into a deeper confidence that the Lord will return?

Responding to the Word

Make us a watchful people, Lord, living in such a way that we keep one eye watching for your return, while we meet the challenges of the present. Let us not grow discouraged or fearful that you will not return. Help us recognize how you come even now in your word and in the sacraments. Amen.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

The first reading consists of a communal lament and a prayer that recounts events in the history of Israel. The people are in a desperate situation, unable to help themselves, in need of someone who can rescue them from their plight. They feel abandoned even by their ancestors, and so they cry out to God. Attention then shifts from their distress to the mighty works of God. Those who seemed to be the least deserving of divine kindness hope that God, who worked wonders in the past, will work wonders now on their behalf.

Paul is grateful for blessings granted in the past to the Corinthians. He reminds them that these blessings came from God through Christ. This may indicate that the Corinthians have developed a certain smugness about their abilities. Paul then moves to the point of the passage, namely, the community’s waiting for the revelation of the Lord. The Christians are living in the “time between.” Christ has already been born, died, and raised from the dead. They now live in anticipation of his return. At issue are the manner of their lifestyle and the character of their commitment during this “time between.”

A thrice-repeated command—“Watch!”—surrounds a parable that emphasizes the need to be ready at all times, because Christians do not know when the Lord will return. The Greek word for “time” (kairos) refers to a special time, a decisive moment, more than mere chronological or sequential time (chronos). The short parable brings this point home. Like the servants in the parable, the Christians are instructed to be prepared at all times. The coming of the householder will be sudden and unscheduled, a kairos moment. Life between the times will go on as usual. There are responsibilities that must be carried out. However, life must still be lived with the realization that this is a time of vigilance. “Watch!”