The Word of God Came to John
May you continue to prepare to
celebrate the Coming (Adventus) of the Lord Jesus.
We can sometimes be misled in our
life’s journey. If we take the first set of information we come to, without
checking to see if it is accurate, we can end up in the wrong place. Recently
following the Google map a car fell into a river at an unfinished bridge and
lost their lives. We must be willing to take the extra steps needed to be sure
we are following good directions, and not just the first ones we see. We must
check the directions GOD intends for us and try to stay on task as we journey
to our ultimate destination.
We are
still in Advent, awaiting the Advent (“Coming”) of the Lord Jesus. The First
Reading is written to the faithful left in Jerusalem during the time of
Babylonian exile. They are to expect the return of the exiles, who will be led
back by none other than GOD. The Responsorial proclaims the joy of the people
as those who had been led away in sadness, and now re-enter the Promised Land.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul addresses the faith community in Philippi
urging them to continue acting in a way that shows their belief that Jesus will
return again. The Gospel portrays John the Baptist as the one who announces the
imminent first arrival (advent) of the Messiah.
First Reading, Baruch 5:1-9: God means to show your
splendour to every nation
Commentary:
This
part of the Book of Baruch is a meditation on Isaiah’s promises for Jerusalem
at the return of Israel from exile in Babylon. It is, of course, taken up by
John the Baptist in his proclamation that the high mountains will be flattened
and the valleys filled in to make a smooth road for the Messiah to cross the
desert to Jerusalem. There were many aspects of the expected Messiah, the
harbinger of God’s kingship. For Isaiah it was a conquering hero, his garments
stained with the blood of his victories. In this prophecy the reign of God is
more peaceful, a heartfelt dedication to God and the values of the divine
sovereignty, for at this coming of God the names of Jerusalem shall be ‘Peace
through Justice’ and ‘Glory through Devotion’. True peace is possible only
through the saving justice of God, when the People of God truly act as God’s
representatives, made in the image of God, and the envoys of his saving values.
The ideal of God’s kingdom appears in the Garden of Eden before the Fall, when
his representatives, Adam and Eve, lived in perfect harmony with one another
and with God’s whole creation.
Responsorial Psalm 126: What marvels the Lord worked for
us! Indeed, we were glad.
The
psalmist reflects upon the return of the exiles. It truly has become a time of
GOD’s manifesting the divine and mighty deeds for all of GOD’s people. The dark
and terrible days when the people were led away in chains have turned into a
time of great rejoicing as they come into the Holy City of GOD.
Second Reading: Philippians 1:4-6,8-11: May you become
pure and blameless in preparation for the day of Christ
Commentary:
Paul
always begins his letters with a commendation and a blessing. The Philippians
to whom he is writing were Paul’s favourite community. The letter is full of
friendship and affection. Here he commends the Philippians for their
partnership with him in the gospel, and prays that God’s work in them may be
completed. So they may be ready for the Day of the Lord, which he envisaged to
be imminent. The passage is chosen as a preparation for the coming of the Lord
Jesus at Christmas – and Christmas shopping leaves no doubt about the imminence
of that Coming. It serves as a reminder that the traditional three comings of
Christ cannot be separated. The coming in history was the birth of Jesus at
Bethlehem. The coming in mystery is the coming of Christ into our hearts as we
endeavour to mould ourselves as his faithful followers and to live out his
values. The coming in majesty is the final coming of Christ in glory to gather
his elect to himself, either at our homecoming in death or at the end of all
things. The three comings lead on, one to another: the coming in history gives
a new impetus to the Kingdom of God, the coming in majesty brings it to its
climax, and the coming in mystery is our own repeated response.
Gospel Luke 3:1-6; The call of John the Baptist
Commentary:
Each
year the two middle Sundays of Advent centre on John the Baptist, preparing the
way for Jesus. John came to prepare a community of repentance who would be
ready for the Messiah. This was to be a community not of those who went around
moping about their sinfulness, but a community of those who had changed their
ways and their whole system of values and priorities. The Hebrew concept which
he proclaimed was a matter of turning round and going in the opposite
direction. To be ready for the Messiah meant – and still means – such
a radical change of attitude. John himself had prepared by going out into the
desert, for the Messiah was to come striding across the desert, as did Israel
at the exodus. John’s clothing and his whole way of life showed his rejection
of current materialism and his single-minded dedication. It is not primarily a
negative point of view, for his quotation of Baruch (as in today’s first
reading) or of Isaiah shows that the flattening of the hills and the filling of
the valleys is a preparation for the Kingdom of Peace and Justice. A good deal
of positive planning and of spade-work is needed if we are to be ready to
welcome that Kingdom.
Reflection: Do you
recognize the voice of the Lord speaking to you when you listen to the word of
God in Scripture? Luke the evangelist tells us that the "word of God came
to John in the wilderness" (Luke 3:2). Who was John the Baptist and what
is the significance of the word which he received and delivered to the people
of his day? Luke tells us that John was the son of Zechariah, a priest who
served in the temple at Jerusalem. John stood at a pivotal juncture in the
history of God's dealing with his people. He bridged the Old and New
Testaments, also known as the Old and New Covenants which God made with his
people.
John
was filled and led by the Spirit: John's prophetic calling and mission
preceded his conception and birth. The angel had announced to Zechariah that
his barren wife would conceive a son, and "you shall call his name
John," and "he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his
mother's womb" (Luke 1:13,15). When John received his name shortly after
birth, his father prophesied that he would be "called the prophet of the
Most High who will go before the Lord to prepare his ways" (Luke 1:76).
John was called to be a prophet, a spokesman for God.
In
dramatic fashion Luke tells us when John appeared on the world scene. Luke
lists a few of the key reigning rulers in John's era, including Tiberius Caesar
of Rome (Luke 3:1). These rulers pale in reference to the man who now stood at
the door of a new era of grace and salvation for the world. John's mission was
to prepare the way for God's Anointed King who would come to establish God's
rule above all other kings and authorities. Luke emphasizes the universal call
of the Gospel to all peoples without distinction. He quotes from the prophet
Isaiah that "all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Isaiah 40:5;
52:10).
John
was a servant of God's Word: How did John prepare for the coming of the
Anointed (Messiah) King and Savior of the world? Luke tells us that "the
word of God came to John" when he was dwelling in the wilderness of Judea
(Luke 3:2). John was called from an early age to devote himself to prayer and
to the word of God. John not only took the Scriptures to heart, but he molded
his life according to them and made himself a servant of the Word of God. John
was led by the Spirit into a barren and lonely place away from the noise and
distractions of everyday life. There God taught John in the solitude of the
desert and prepared him for a prophetic ministry that would turn the hearts of
his people to receive their long-awaited Messiah.
In the
ancient world when a king decided to tour his kingdom, he first sent his
courier ahead to prepare the way. John is the courier and great herald of the
Messiah King who proclaims to all the peoples that the impending reign of God
is now very close at hand. Isaiah had long ago prophesied the role of the
Forerunner of the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3-5). John undoubtedly took this word to
heart as he searched the Scriptures and reflected on the word of God in the
wilderness. When John began his public ministry, he traveled throughout the
region of Judea and preached a "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness
of sins" (Luke 3:3).
Do
you allow God's Word to transform your life?: How can
we, like John the Baptist, prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus Christ -
today and every day and when he comes again to bring us fully into his
everlasting kingdom? John the Baptist tells us that the first step is
conversion and repentance (Matthew 3:2; Luke 3:7). Conversion involves
receiving God's word into our hearts and mind and allowing his Word to change
our attitudes and wrong ways of thinking and judging. Repentance is the
deliberate turning away from sin (wrong-doing) and turning to God to receive
his pardon, healing, and strength to do what is good and reject what is wrong.
John saw
from a distance what Jesus the Messiah would accomplish through his death and
resurrection - pardon for our sins, healing and restoration, and eternal life
for all who would believe in the Lord Jesus. Are you hungry for the Word of God
and do you allow God's word to transform the way you think, speak, and live
your life?
Lord
Jesus, you are the Word of God and the Savior of the world. Help me to receive
your Word with expectant faith, and to live it with confident hope, and to
proclaim it joyfully with love and boldness to all I meet.
Daily
Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Touching
Jesus by faith, by Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D. "Consider the text
'And all flesh shall see the salvation of God' (Luke 3:6). There is no
difficulty at all in taking this to mean 'And all flesh shall see the Christ of
God.' After all, Christ was seen in the body and will be seen in the body when
he comes again to judge the living and the dead. Scripture has many texts
showing that he is the 'salvation of God,' particularly the words of the
venerable old man, Simeon, who took the child in his arms and said, 'Now let
your servant go in peace, O Lord, according to your word, because my eyes have
seen your salvation' (Luke 2:29-30)." (excerpt from CITY OF GOD 22.29)
highway construction
“Make ready the way of the Lord, clear Him a straight path.” —Luke
3:4
Before
Christ’s Christmas coming and His Second Coming, we need to make a highway in
the desert. This desert highway is both for us (Bar 5:7) and the Lord to use
(Lk 3:4). We are to use the highway first to get out of the exile of sin. Then
Jesus will come on it to take us home from our exile on earth (see 1 Pt 2:11).
We
construct and travel this highway by repentance — deep repentance. By
repentance, we fill in the emptiness of sin’s “death valley” and level
mountains of pride and inflated egos (see Lk 3:5). As we confess our sins, the
Lord makes straight (Lk 3:5) our winding excuses, rationalizations, unrealistic
denials, and self-deceptions. The rough, jagged, cutting, harmful edges of our
selfish attitudes are made smooth through repentance, forgiveness, and
Reconciliation (Lk 3:5). Make and drive the highway of repentance into
Christmas and heaven.
Prayer: Father, keep me on the holy highway
(Is 35:8). “My prayer is that your love may more and more abound, both in
understanding and wealth of experience, so that with a clear conscience and
blameless conduct you may learn to value the things that really matter, up to
the very day of Christ.” —Phil 1:9-10. Praise Jesus, Emmanuel, “God-with-us”
(see Mt 1:23), risen Lord, Savior, and God!
The
personal question for today: Where am I on my pathway to the Lord
Jesus? Have I been knocked off track by obstacles (σκανδιλον – skandilon) that
I (or others) have placed in the way? Am I being vigilant to my surroundings
and looking for the One Who will lead me safely to my destination? What can I
do to smooth out the way not only for myself but also for my fellow journeyers?
Am I ready to meet the Lord Jesus Who is coming to me? Do I seek His return
with joy and peace?
Immaculate
Conception of Mary: A feast called the Conception of Mary
arose in the Eastern Church in the seventh century. It came to the West in the
eighth century. In the 11th century, it received its present name, the
Immaculate Conception. In the 18th century, it became a feast of the universal
Church. It is now recognized as a solemnity. In 1854, Pius IX solemnly
proclaimed: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her
conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, given
the merits of Jesus Christ, the savior of the human race, was preserved free
from all stain of original sin.”
It took a
long time for this doctrine to develop. While many Fathers and Doctors of the
Church considered Mary the greatest and holiest of the saints, they often had
difficulty in seeing Mary as sinless—either at her conception or throughout her
life. This is one of the Church teachings that arose more from the piety of the
faithful than from the insights of brilliant theologians. Even such champions
of Mary as Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas Aquinas could not see theological
justification for this teaching.
Two
Franciscans, William of Ware and Blessed John Duns Scotus, helped develop the theology.
They pointed out that Mary’s Immaculate Conception enhances Jesus’ redemptive
work. Other members of the human race are cleansed from original sin after
birth. In Mary, Jesus’ work was so powerful as to prevent original sin at the
outset.
In Luke
1:28 the angel Gabriel, speaking on God’s behalf, addresses Mary as “full of
grace” or “highly favored”. In that context, this phrase means that Mary is
receiving all the special divine help necessary for the task ahead. However,
the Church grows in understanding with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit
led the Church, especially non-theologians, to the insight that Mary had to be
the most perfect work of God next to the Incarnation. Or rather, Mary’s
intimate association with the Incarnation called for the special involvement of
God in Mary’s whole life.
The logic
of piety helped God’s people to believe that Mary was full of grace and free of
sin from the first moment of her existence. Moreover, this great privilege of
Mary is the highlight of all that God has done in Jesus. Rightly understood,
the incomparable holiness of Mary shows forth the incomparable goodness of God.
