Second Sunday of Advent

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 23 2025

The Status Un-quo

It was a football weekend at the University of Notre Dame. Sacred Heart basilica was packed. People from all over streamed forward in a straight line, holding open their hands—tender hands with well-formed nails, broad hands accustomed to strength. A few opened their mouths. All had straight white teeth. And I kept saying it: “Body of Christ.” And they replied: “Amen.” “Body of Christ.” “Amen.” “Body of Christ.” “Amen.” The multitudes streamed toward the Lord.

Then I saw him in line. He didn’t fit among the well-dressed crowd. Scraggly long hair. Shorts (in November?). Hiking boots. Gray wool socks with red stripes. He might have walked in straight from the Appalachian Trail. What was he doing here? He stopped in front of me and opened his hands to receive the One who was mightier than he. Eager for the One he so obviously loved, his eyes gleamed with joy.

I wondered, if John the Baptist were here among us, is this what he would look like? Would he choose to deliberately unsettle the status quo? Would he intend to show us how transitory this life is? Would he want us to be cognizant that all earthly things will pass away? That this glorious building, with these good-looking people celebrating this famed football team—would John the Baptist rail at us not to forget that all is nothing compared to the grandeur of the One who comes to us at Christmas? In spite of our self-assurance that we control the present, would he remind us that we are simple Advent people—never secure in the now, always on a tenuous trek to something more? Maybe he would. Maybe he should.

I focused back on my task for those who flowed forward, offering food for the journey: “Body of Christ.” “Amen.” “Body of Christ . . .”

Consider/Discuss

Unexpected events unsettle our surety. What has sharpened our focus, made us realize that this earthly life is not sufficient, not all there is? Where has God been in those moments?
In this tenuous Advent of our lives, paths are not always straight, mountains can seem high, valleys can feel abysmally low. How can we be like John the Baptist for each other, helping to prepare the way for the Lord?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, with you, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day. Yet we can become so focused on what we are doing right here and now that we lose sight of your bigger picture. Sharpen our eyes to see your broader vision. You alone are enough. Ready us to receive your forgiveness as we prepare for your coming, eager to be found without spot or blemish. Come, Emmanuel, come and be born in our hearts!

Jan 23 2025

Scripture Study for

The beginning of this passage from Isaiah combines fierce language of the Divine Warrior with pastoral images of the Divine Shepherd. Together the two metaphors evoke confidence in God’s power and desire to save, which is motivated by care for God’s “flock.” The highway in the wilderness is the path of the Divine Warrior, who marches into Babylon to retrieve Israel. The language of “reward” and “recompense” refers to plunder that a warrior could expect to gain from pillaging conquered lands. Here the “war booty” is God’s own people. God gently scoops them up and brings them home. The overall image is of a fiercely loyal Warrior on a rescue mission, marching into enemy territory to retrieve (redeem) the Chosen People.

The community to which Peter in his Second Letter writes has struggled to be faithful in the face of persecution, and has doubts about the delay in the Lord’s return or the coming of the day of the Lord. The apparent delay also challenges fervor and perseverance in discipleship. Peter first assures them that the “delay” is only from their limited human perspective; in fact, it is for their benefit that the Lord does not return right away, as it gives time for repentance. But be assured, he says, that the day of the Lord will come and when it comes, the Lord will want to find this people faithful, holy, devoted, “without spot or blemish.”

Last week’s Gospel reading featured Jesus warning his listeners not to put off repentance. At the beginning of today’s Gospel, we have John the Baptist also warning his listeners to be prepared for the (first) coming of the Son of God. The baptism John preaches is one of both repentance and forgiveness. His message is not simply “repent,” but also “allow yourselves to be forgiven.” Both repentance and forgiveness prepare the crowds for the One who is coming, the One who will complete the work by making it possible for the people to receive the Holy Spirit, the divine agent of sanctification, ensuring that repentance and forgiveness bear lasting fruit.

Jan 13 2025

Seeing Differently, through God’s Eyes

When I was in forestry school in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I recall skiing one winter morning through a birch grove as the sun rose. The white birch bark glowed pink in the snow, reflecting the sunrise. Around me, trees had fallen, some had been chopped up for firewood. Yet each of the ancient trees had stump sprouts rising from its base. (That is the nature of birch trees.) In three years, young trees had grown fifteen feet. How so tall? They didn’t have to start from scratch; the saplings were fed by the root systems of the older trees.

Our Christian faith is like a stump sprout that rises from our Jewish roots. We share a common vision: that peace will reign and justice will thrive. Isaiah envisions a king who will make creation flourish in solidarity: even a cobra will be so tame that a baby can handle it. Together we are rooted in God’s vision, a hope for a more glowing future.

At the same time, John the Baptist bursts in wielding an axe with rough words for the Pharisees—repent! Cut down every tree that does not bear good fruit! Yet he too sees a radiant vision: One who is coming after him who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire!

We are rooted in God’s vision of what can be. The courage of Advent is this faith in the future. We await Christmas. We await eternity. Earthly life will be cut down and pass away, yet we live on the brink of a blessed and infinite future. That mode of seeing can fill the way that we live our lives today. Like the fiery glow in the birch forest, as people of Advent we live within the sunrise of a new day.

Consider/Discuss

Isaiah tells us that a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. None of us start from scratch either. Our faith is rooted in the faith of those who have gone before us. Our faith is now supported by those who travel with us. We hope that our faith will bear fruit in those who arise from our roots. What do each of those roots look like—past, present, and future?
In this season of preparation for the coming of Jesus, as God sees into our hearts, what is one thing that we could chop off or prune in order to bear stronger fruit?

Living and Praying with the Word

God of the future, thank you for your vision. Open our eyes to see you as you surround and enfold us on this journey. Help us to see this sunrise in which we live. We want to walk with you more robustly. We give ourselves to you this day, for you are the source of our hope. Fill us with the fullness of your peace forever. Thank you and thank you again for your goodness to us.