The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, December 09, 2018 as the second Sunday of Advent in the liturgical year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “O people of Sion, behold, the Lord will come to save the nations, and the Lord will make the glory of his voice heard in the joy of your heart. Amen.”
Last Sunday, which was the first Sunday of Advent, we talked about Advent as marking the beginning of a new year in the Church. Advent is a four-week period before Christmas during which the Church concentrates her attention on our Lord’s coming, a central theme in the Church’s worship. The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming”. It looks back to the first coming of Christ, when he was born that first Christmas in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, and it looks forward to his second coming, the “Parousia”, at the end of time, when we will meet Him and His Father face-to-face in the glory of the heavenly kingdom. We also heard that during this liturgical year C, the Gospel readings are taken mainly, but not exclusively, from the Gospel of Saint Luke.
In today’s first reading, the prophet Baruch proclaims to his people living in exile a message full of hope: the return of the exiles to freedom in the Holy City of Jerusalem. He sees a new and final return from exile, when all upright men and women will bow before God’s Holy City. In the second reading, Saint Paul exhorts his Christian community of Philippi to intensify mutual love and grow in the knowledge of Christ so that they can face the Day of Judgement with confidence when Christ comes back at the end of time. He prays for the community that their faith may become stronger as they await the imminent return of the Saviour. In the Gospel, Saint Luke presents us the figure of John the Baptist, the last prophetic voice calling for the people to prepare themselves for their deliverance. He urges us to prepare a path for the Lord by filling up the dark valleys of hatred, enmity and misunderstanding in our lives, and straightening the paths in our lives that have been distorted by sin so that our Redeemer will find our hearts ready to receive him.
In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace of conversion so that when our Lord returns he will find us worthy of a place in his kingdom.
Baruch 5:1-9
Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name. For God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship. Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God. Led away on foot by their enemies they left you: but God will bring them back to you borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones. For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God. The forests and every fragrant kind of tree have overshadowed Israel at God’s command; for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
In this first reading, we meet the prophet Baruch, who was the secretary to the prophet Jeremiah. The African Bible tells me that Baruch survived the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian forces and, like Jeremiah, was taken to Egypt by force by some Jews who fled Jerusalem after the assassination of the ruler imposed on them by the Babylonians.
The book of Baruch has come down to us only in Greek but many biblical scholars believe that it was originally written in Hebrew and translated into Greek. It is perhaps because the original Hebrew original was lost that the book does not appear in the Jewish Bible. Some Christian scholars consider the Book of Baruch, along with the Book of Lamentations, as an appendix to the Book of Jeremiah. The Council of Trent includes Baruch in the list of canonical books, that is, those books inspired by God. Martin Luther and some Protestants either included it in the apocrypha of the Old Testament, or simply omitted it altogether.
Shortly before this day’s passage, the prophet is heard lifting the spirit of Jerusalem with a song of rejoicing for her children held captive in the east but who he sees returning in triumph. As for their captors, that is, the Babylonians and the other oppressors of Judah, God’s anger and punishment await them. He says that Jerusalem belongs to God, who gave her the original name, and he will give it back to her after the return of the exile to the Holy City.
This song of joy and consolation continues in chapter 5 from where our reading is taken. It alternates between passages of lamentation and hope and encouragement. Jerusalem weeps for her scattered children, acknowledges that she is unable to help them, and realizes that God alone is her hope. The prophet promises everlasting happiness because the new Jerusalem will be given the symbolic name that shows that she belongs to God. She will be “peace of righteousness” and “glory of godliness”. She is blessed by God and will live a new age of prosperity immersed in peace, justice and joy. The poet addresses Jerusalem, personifying her as the mother of the nation that is waiting to receive her sons and daughters that have been dispersed in the valley of darkness. With their God by their side, they are now preparing to return home.
Let us pray that our God should always be by our side as we in Cameroon await the return of peace into our land that will enable our families dispersed in exile to return home as well. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Philippians 1: 4-6. 8-11.
Brothers and sisters: I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
V/ The word of the Lord
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians has customarily been identified as one of four of Saint Paul’s “Captivity Epistles” because they were written what Saint Paul was in prison. The others are Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon. Given that Saint Paul suffered imprisonment in Ephesus, Caesarea and Rome, it is not always possible to say for sure from what prison each of these letters was written.
The community of Philippi was very dear to Paul. Philippi was quite an important city in Saint Paul’s time, both commercially and historically. It was in Macedonia on an important Roman road that ran from east to west and anyone traveling from Asia Minor to Greece would have stopped there. In the 4th century BC, Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, had built a fortified city there that was named after him. In 168 BC, the Romans overran it and turned it into a Roman colony, its inhabitants enjoying the same rights and privileges as any Italian city.
The community at Philippi was the first church Paul founded during his second apostolic journey to Europe round about the year 50 or 51 AD. The Acts of the Apostles give a fairly detailed account of this visit. Shortly after arriving in the city, Saint Paul, accompanied by Silas, Timothy and Luke, went to the place where the Jews used to meet and began preaching there. Their success attracted much hostility from certain Jews, who dragged Paul and Silas to court, had been flogged and thrown in prison. Upon their release, they left for Thessalonica (Acts 16: 25-39).
What was Saint Paul’s intention in writing this letter? First of all, he wanted to thank the Philippians for the gifts they had sent him when he was in prison and to exhort them to be ever more faithful to the Christian way of life. He also warns them against Jews who were seeking to corrupt them.
In the passage of our meditation, Saint Paul is anxious to be with the Philippians so he can further complete their allegiance to Christ. His joy in their progress so far makes him pray for the increase of their knowledge of the Lord. How can this be? They must love one another. In one mind and heart their Christian living must prepare them for the day of the coming of our Lord. That will be a day of joy, when their efforts and perseverance will be taken into the perfect goodness of Christ. This message is also directed to you and me during this Advent season.
Let us pray: Grant, Father, that when Christ comes again, we may go out to meet him, bearing the harvest of good works achieved by your grace. We pray that he will receive us into the company of the saints and call us into the kingdom of heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia. Prepare a way for the Lord; make his paths straight, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God. Alleluia.”
Gospel: Saint 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.
V/ The Gospel of the Lord
R/ Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
The readings of this day’s Mass all encourage people to imagine a good future that God has in store for them. We heard the prophet Baruch in the first reading asking his people to cast aside the dress of sorrow and distress and wrap themselves with the cloak of God’s integrity. He told them that things were going to get better and that they should have courage to look forward to a brighter future because, as the Psalmist says, let people imagine a time when they will no longer be in bondage and nor sow in tears, but will return full of joy, carrying a rich harvest (Ps 126).
In his Letter to the Philippians, in the second reading, Saint Paul takes a similar line, complimenting his Christians for helping him in his work and telling them how much he loves them. He then invites them to prepare for that day when they will reach perfect goodness.
Finally, we come to the Gospel message where Saint Luke introduces us to the figure of John the Baptist. Saint Augustine calls John the Baptist a harbinger of new times, who shows that he has been a prophet from his mother’s womb. He has not yet been born when, at our Lord’s arrival, he leaps for joy inside his mother (Lk 1: 41).
The whole of John’s life is therefore determined by his prophetic mission, even before he was born. His whole purpose is to prepare, for Jesus, a people capable of receiving the Kingdom of God. He was to carry out his task to the full, even to the extent of giving up his life in the fulfillment of his vocation.
Many came to know Jesus through John the Baptist’s apostolic work. He is shown traveling around the Jordan district announcing the great day to come when all mankind shall see the salvation of God. Thanks to him Jesus received his first disciples, John and Andrew (Jn 1: 37). John is the voice of hope which encourages people to change their ways and grow in their faith because good things will come to them through our Lord.
He urges us to fill every valley in our lives, lay low every mountain and hill, and straighten the winding ways of deceit, dishonesty and crookedness in our lives. He does not ask us to go out and convert others; but rather to start the conversion with ourselves. Let us not meddle in others lives and business; but let us change ourselves by giving our lives the right orientation this Advent season. Conversion should start from our own hearts before extending to others.
When we commit sin, we turn our back on God; when we convert, we turn towards God. Sin destroys our relationship with God, conversion reestablishes it. Let us turn towards God during this Advent season through a good confession. That is how, as Saint Paul tells his Christians of Philippi, “the One who began this work in you will see that it is finished.” God made use of John, Paul and other saintly men and women as his instruments of conversion. As we too strive towards perfection, Christ will complete his work of salvation in us. Salvation is God’s free gift; God saves because he loves us.
Let us not march towards Christmas alone. Hold the hand of a brother or sister, especially those who have fled war from the English regions and from the northern parts of our country, Cameroon. Together, you will pray for peace and peace will return to our country, through Christ our Lord. Amen
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