December 6, 2020

Second Sunday of Advent (Year B)

Today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent and it brings a continuation of the Advent themes considered last Sunday. These were the ideas of watchfulness and waiting for the coming of Jesus, as well as a new personal beginning we can make at the start of a new liturgical year. It is a time when we can adapt an interior disposition of repentance and prepare our hearts and minds for Christ.

The readings for this Sunday offer more advice about being prepared at this time of year. In the First Reading (Isa. 40:1-5, 9-11) we see the prophet Isaiah acting as a messenger of God for the post-exilic people of Judah. He is preparing them for the arrival of the Messiah for whom they have been waiting since the time of King David (2Samuel 7:12-14).

This is the pronouncement that God tells Isaiah to make: “Say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, leading the ewes with care.” (Isa. 40:9-11).

In the Gospel for today (Mk. 1:1-8), Mark describes John the Baptist fulfilling the same role as Isaiah preparing for the coming of the Messiah. He says, “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” (Isa. 40:2-3).

 Mark also describes John the Baptist as a desert dweller wearing a cloak of camel’s hair with a leather belt tied around his waist. He is a recluse of a prophet preaching to the people in the Judean countryside and Jerusalem about repentance and the forgiveness of sins. John proclaims his reason for doing this. He says, “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit.” (Isa. 40:7-8).

John, of course, is preparing the way for Jesus and warning the people that in order to be prepared for his arrival, they must repent, seek forgiveness for their sins, and undergo a conversion in faithfulness. And the people of Judah are flocking to him in droves to be baptized in the Jordon River.

Fortunately for them, the people of the first century AD had John the Baptist announcing the imminent arrival of the Messiah, so they knew that it was vital to prepare at once. Those of us who are waiting for the return of Jesus this advent, do not know when that will happen. However, we do have the advice from St. Peter today to help us.

This advice is found in the second letter of Peter (2Pet. 3:8-14), which was written in the name of the apostle Peter for the benefit of the Christian community patiently awaiting the second return of Jesus, what is known as the Parousia. These Christians thought their Savior would be returning very soon and they have grown impatient, so much so that some even deny that Jesus would return as he had promised.

It has been two-thousand years since Jesus walked the earth and we still experience this same impatience. In fact, many people today do not believe in Jesus, let alone that he will return one day. But Peter reminds us of something important when he says, “Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2Pet. 3:8-9).

Peter also reiterates what he had been taught by Jesus. We heard it in the Gospel last week where Jesus described himself to the master of a house, “Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” (Mk. 13:35a, 36-37).

 Peter compares this return of Jesus to a day when the Lord will come like a thief, suddenly and unexpectedly. This is where Peter’s appeal for our preparedness becomes very important. He speaks of the arrival of the Lord as a day of judgment where the old earth will pass away and a new earth will be established for the righteous, those who have stayed true to the Gospel and the belief in the Parousia.

Peter urges us, “You ought to be conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion [and] be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.” (2Pet. 3:11b, 14b).

 That is why Advent is so important for us. We need to be ready for the coming of our Savior and Lord in our dispositions and everyday living, conducting ourselves in holiness and devotion. It is a theme that was pronounced by Isaiah in the sixth century BC, by John the Baptist and Peter in the first century AD and one which still continues today. More than just good advice, it is a warning: Be prepared!