Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Prayer

Loving Father, our season of Advent invites us to consider the blessings of heaven found here and in our future. As we look to Your Son’s return, help us to embrace the virtue of patience. May Your will be done and may Your Son return to us in glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Commentary

1st Reading: Baruch 5:1-9

Advent is not only a time to wait for the Lord’s coming in glory. It is also a time to see what the Lord will do when He arrives.

Baruch (a secretary for the Prophet Jeremiah) encourages the people of Israel who have been forced into exile by the Babylonians.

The people in exile longed to come back to Zion. His words of encouragement include a vision for the children of God who are“from the east and the west” and will be gathered together. And, when they do, they will be “borne aloft in glory.”

Baruch assures the people in exile that nothing will stand in the way of God’s promise; even the lofty mountains will be made low and the valleys will be raised to make a smooth highway so “that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.” This promise of a straight and smooth road is repeated again by John the Baptist in today’s Gospel.

Question:

Have you ever wondered what life will be like after our exile here on earth?

2nd Reading: Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11

There is a prayer that a bishop offers a deacon at his ordination. It comes from our 2nd Reading: “May the one who has begun the good work in you, bring it to completion.” These are words of encouragement for the one who is to take up the Lord’s work.

St. Paul offers these same words of encouragement to the Christian community as they wait for the coming of the Lord. They are encouraging words for us today as well.

We can often become discouraged as we do the Lord’s work. A deacon, a priest, sister, mother or father, catechist or Sunday Lector are all doing the work of God.

However, we should remember that our working for the Lord is a response to the Lord who is working in us. He is truly working in you and the good work that he began in you will be brought to completion. Trust in him and be patient.

Question:

How do you see God accomplishing His work in and through you?

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

The Second and Third Sundays of Advent turn their attention to John the Baptist. John is seen as the forerunner to Jesus and the bridge between the Old and the New Testaments.

As in the First Reading, the theme of a “smooth and level highway” is found in Luke’s Gospel. As a “voice of one crying in the wilderness,” John fulfills the old prophecy that “all flesh will see the salvation of God.”

Mountains lowered and valleys raised symbolize what God’s salvation will look like.

The salvation of God will include justice and a level playing field for all who respond to a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Advent is a wonderful time to respond to the Baptist’s call for repentance.

Communal Reconciliation services are offered in many parishes during this season to help “prepare the way.”

Question:

How are you preparing the way for the Lord in your life?

This Week’s Task

Reconciliation is a beautiful sacrament of healing and forgiveness. Often, people assume that they need to get their house in order before they confess their sins. However, getting our house in order is possible only through the grace of Christ. Only Christ is able to set our heart and souls straight.

Review your parish bulletin or call the parish office to find out when an Advent Reconciliation service is offered in your parish or in a neighboring parish. Or, you may simply go to confession at the regularly weekly scheduled time in your community.

Group Prayer

Sing or say the following:

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,

And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice ! Rejoice ! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel

The prayer continues with Psalm 126.

Psalm

Response: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,

we were like men dreaming.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with rejoicing.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for us;

we are glad indeed.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

like the torrents in the southern desert.

Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Conclude with an Our Father

Used with permission. All rights reserved. Christ in Our Neighborhood is a Scripture program designed by Bishop John P. Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix.