2nd Sunday of Advent Year B. Dec. 10, 2023

  2^nd Sunday of Advent Year B. Dec. 10, 2023

Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11; 2 Peter 3: 8-14; Mark 1: 1-8

 

Theme: Make Straight the Way of God

Since last Sunday, we have started the new liturgical calendar year B. This liturgical year is the process of our entire life with God. Our relationship with God begins on Christmas, the day God has decided to take our flesh and come to live among us. This relationship will grow through the year, and it will reach its full completion when Jesus, King of the Universe (the last Sunday of the liturgical year), invites us to share with him the joy of God’s Kingdom. Since this meeting with our God on Christmas is so special, our Holy Mother Church asks us to prepare ourselves for it. This is the meaning of the four weeks of Advent. From its Latin origin Adventus, the word “Advent”, means “coming.” The liturgy of this four week-season of Advent prepares us, not only for the coming of Jesus into history over 2000 years ago whose anniversary we celebrate on Christmas, but it also prepares us for Jesus’ second coming in glory at the end of time as well as for the coming of Jesus in our daily lives. All these three comings of Jesus (at the end of the time, on Christmas, and every day) require good preparation.  A good celebration of Christmas will depend on how we prepare ourselves during this Advent. The celebration in heaven will be certain if we prepare ourselves seriously for the return of Jesus at the end of time. And Jesus’s real presence amid the happenings of our daily lives depends on how we prepare ourselves every day to welcome him. Although Christmas gives us the image of a holiday with decorations and shopping, let us keep in mind that Advent is a special time of repentance. The purple color of the Advent liturgy reminds us of this repentance. The four candles of the Advent Wreath teach us that our repentance and waiting for Jesus’ coming should be with hope (first Sunday), peace (second Sunday), joy (third Sunday), and love (fourth Sunday). The Gospel of the first Sunday focused on Jesus’ second coming and invited us to stay watchful and alert as we still do not know when the time will come. In the second and third Sunday’s Gospels, we will hear John the Baptist who will call us to repentance as he prepares the way for the coming of Jesus. The story of how the birth of Jesus came about that we will hear in the last Sunday’s Gospel will prepare us to celebrate his birth on Christmas. 

The Gospel that we heard is the first part of the prologue of the Gospel according to Mark which talks about the preparation for the public ministry of Jesus. This prologue (Mark 13: 1-13) commences with the title “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God] (v. 1, NABRE), followed by three events preparatory to Jesus’ preaching. The first event (this is our passage) is the appearance of John, the Baptist, who preached and baptized the people for the repentance of their sins to prepare them for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah (vv. 2-8). The second event tells how John baptized Jesus, the Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon him, and a voice came from the heavens acknowledging him to be the Son of God (vv. 9-11). And the third event is the story of the temptation of Jesus by Satan (vv. 12-13).

In our Gospel story, Mark commences by telling us that this passage is the “beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (v. 1, NRSVCE). Here Mark means that his Gospel is the “good news” of salvation in and through Jesus whose comings (on Christmas, at the end of time, and every day coming) we are waiting for, and we are preparing ourselves accordingly. It is “good news” because it gives us the information that we need to know to stay in good relationships with God. This “Good News” on which we will be mediating at Masses throughout this liturgical year B will make our relationships with God and our brothers and sisters grow and bear good fruits.

Then, Mark proceeds by reporting to us the preaching of John the Baptist in the Judean wilderness. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, John called his people including all of us today to prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight (vv. 2-3). This is the same message that the prophet Isaiah preached to the people of Israel in his time as we heard it in our first reading. Why does our Holy Mother Church suggest we meditate on John and Isaiah’s preachings today? The answer is that the works that John the Baptist and Isaiah asked their contemporaries to do are exactly what we need to do in this Advent season as our preparation and repentance for the comings of our Lord.

John and Isaiah asked us to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths. The question that comes to my mind is: which way and paths the scripture readings are talking about? Is it the freeway I 10 East or West? Are they the avenues and streets in our neighborhoods that we need to decorate for the Christmas holiday? Not at all. The scripture readings talk about the spiritual ways, paths, and roads that facilitate Jesus to come to be born in our hearts and families. Sins damage these spiritual paths and transform them into bad roads, preventing Jesus from reaching our hearts and families. Prophet Isaiah, in our first reading, identified four types of bad roads and told us what kind of work to do to fix each of them. He said, “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” (v. 4, NRSVCE).

Pride and greed, for instance, damage our spiritual road and transform it into a “valley road”. Lust and envy transform our spiritual paths into “mountains and hills”, preventing us from coming to Church to pray to God and serve him. Gluttony and wrath make our spiritual road become “uneven ground”. And sloth damages our relationships with God by making our spiritual lives become “rough places”. Those sins are the seven mortal or deadly sins that lead to further sins. By asking us to lift up every valley, make low every mountain and hill, level any uneven ground, and make the rough places become plain, our Holy Mother Church tries to ask us to confess all our sins and repent.

In our second reading, the author of the second Epistle of Peter tells us that God is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3: 9). Note that here Peter exhorts his listeners regarding the delay of the return of Jesus and the fulfillment of his promise. He tells them and us that the delay of Jesus’ second coming is not a failure to accomplish his promise but rather a sign of his patience for the people to repent.

Peter then exhorts us to conduct ourselves in holiness and devotion (v. 11). This entails attending Masses, especially on Sundays, attending the Liturgical Weekly Bible study classes that I teach every Friday at 5: 00 p.m. Central time via Zoon and in-person, and participating in the 3-Day Advent Revival that I will preach in our Church on December 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th. This is what the people of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem did as we heard in our Gospel. Mark reports that they were going to John the Baptist to hear his preaching about the baptism of repentance. It was the Word of God that John the Baptist preached to them that transformed their lives and made them acknowledge their sins and decide to repent (vv. 4-5). In the same way, the Word of God that we hear at Masses, that we study and meditate on in our Liturgical Weekly Bible Study classes every Friday, and that we will hear in our 3-day Advent Revival are the resources for our spiritual transformation which will lead us to acknowledge our sins and repent.

While we are waiting for the tree comings of our Lord, our second reading calls us to strive to be found by Jesus at peace, without spot or blemish” (v. 14). This is the meaning of the second Advent candle that we light today. It is the candle of peace, reminding us that the work of penance must be done peacefully. Let us seize this opportunity and fix now all the “damaged roads” of our relationships with God and our brothers and sisters because, as Peter says, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (v. 10).

May the liturgy of this Second Sunday of Advent enable us to acknowledge our sins and repent. Amen.

Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD

 

1st Sunday of Advent Year B. December 3, 2023

 

1^st Sunday of Advent Year B. December 3, 2023

Isaiah 63: 16b-17; 19b; 64: 2-7; 1Corinthians 1: 3-9; Mark 13: 33-37

 

Theme: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.”

Happy New Year to all! Last Sunday, the solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe marked the end of the Liturgical Year A. So, today we start a new liturgical year B with this first Sunday of Advent. From its Latin origin Adventus, the word “Advent”, means “coming.” The liturgy of this four week-season of Advent prepares us, not only for the coming of Jesus into history over 2000 years ago whose anniversary we celebrate on Christmas, but it also prepares us for Jesus’ second coming in glory at the end of time as well as for the coming of Jesus in our daily lives. All these three comings of Jesus (at the end of the time, on Christmas, and every day) require good preparation.  A good celebration of Christmas will depend on how we prepare ourselves during this Advent. The celebration in heaven will be certain if we prepare ourselves seriously for the return of Jesus at the end of time. And Jesus’s real presence amid the happenings of our daily lives depends on how we prepare ourselves every day to welcome him. Although Christmas gives us the image of a holiday with decorations and shopping, let us keep in mind that Advent is a special time of repentance. The purple color of the Advent liturgy reminds us of this repentance. The four candles of the Advent Wreath teach us that our repentance and waiting for Jesus’ coming should be with hope (first Sunday), peace (second Sunday), joy (third Sunday), and love (fourth Sunday). The Gospel of this first Sunday focuses on Jesus’ second coming and invites us to stay watchful and alert as we do not know when the time will come. In the second and third Sunday’s Gospels, we will hear John the Baptist who will call us to repentance as he prepares the way for the coming of Jesus. The story of how the birth of Jesus came about that we will hear in the last Sunday’s Gospel will prepare us for the celebration of his birth on Christmas. 

To better understand our Gospel story, we need to situate it in its context. It is the conclusion part of the big section that starts in chapter 13:1. Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple. (vv. 1-2). Note that this is the temple whose construction began under Herod the Great ca. 20 B.C. and was completed only some seven years before it was destroyed by fire in A.D. 70 by the Roman power. This prediction of the temple's destruction provoked questions from the disciples of Jesus. In secret, they asked him about the time and sign when all the things that he said were about to come to an end (vv. 3-4). Jesus’ response is an eschatological discourse prior to his imminent death. This discourse contained instruction and consolation in which Jesus exhorted the disciples and the Church to faith and obedience through the trials that would confront them (vv. 5-13). The presence of the desolating abomination by the Roman power who would profane the temple would be the sign (v. 14). People would flee rather than defend their city. False messiahs and prophets would arise to mislead people. Jesus called them to be watchful (vv. 14-26). It would be after the tribulation that the Son of Man would come in the clouds with great power and glory for the last judgment (vv. 24-27). Jesus gave them the example of the fig tree to learn from. When its branch becomes tender, and sprouts leaves, they know that summer is near. In the same way, when they see those things happening, they would know that his second coming is near (vv. 28-31). Jesus clarified that no one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels or himself, but only God the Father (v. 32). Our passage starts here. Jesus calls his listeners and all people to constant vigilance (vv. 33-37).

In our short Gospel passage that we heard, the word “watch” or “watchful” repeats four times. This indicates that the key message of the evangelist Mark to his listeners including all of us today is to be watchful because we do not know when the time of the second coming of Jesus will come. (Mark 13: 33). Jesus compares the “watch” to the work of a gatekeeper who must remain vigilant at the door for his master’s return. But what is the attitude of this gatekeeper, and what is the nature of his watch? Is it that of fear of what his master might find when he comes home? Or is it that of the great expectations, in which the gatekeeper is focused on a grand and celebratory reunion? Our attitude during this Advent season should not be the former but the latter.

As we wait for the three comings of Jesus, we must not be sad or anxious. We must rather keep the attitude of joy because the one who is coming is our Lord. His coming is good news for us. He comes to restore our relationship with God. He comes every day to us to make our lives better than before. He comes to bring us hope, love, joy, peace, and the blessing we need. He comes to be our companion when we feel alone. He comes to dry our tears and give us support when we cry. He comes to help us carry our crosses. Jesus comes to be part of our lives and families, so let us prepare a room for him in our hearts and our homes.

To prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord entails repentance and reconciliation with God and with one another. In our first reading, Prophet Isaiah prays to God for the reconciliation of his people with him. The context is that the Israelites experience frustration since they have returned from exile in Babylon. The reconstruction of their city has not worked as they had intended. They attribute this failure to their own sins. Now in our first reading, Isaiah implores God to come to their aid by forgiving their sins. This is what the Church calls each of us to do during this Advent season. We need to confess all our sins so that Jesus might be born in our clean and very well-prepared hearts.  

Saint Paul, in our second reading, tells us that while we are waiting for the return of our Lord, God, through Jesus Christ, has bestowed on us his grace of “all discourse,” “all knowledge,”, and “every spiritual gift”. Here Saint Paul refers to the body as a whole, the Church; not every individual has every spiritual gift, but the entire body, the Church, is “not lacking in any spiritual gift”. (v.7). This means that we receive this gift of the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life of holiness through the sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist (Mass) and confession. This second reading encourages us to attend Masses, especially on Sundays, and use the sacrament of Confession in order to always be equipped to wage a spiritual battle and stay spiritually watchful for the heavenly kingdom.

The way we are happy and well-prepared to welcome a newborn child into our families is the same and even more we must be delighted and well-prepared during these four weeks of Advent because someone of the most important, Jesus, is coming to visit us. Jesus wants to spend time with us and longs for us to spend time with him too. Let us make this Christmas the best Christmas we have ever had by making Jesus feel at home in our hearts, families, neighborhoods, and Church. Amen.

Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD