A Reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year B

 

PREPARE A WAY FOR THE LORD

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Readings: Isaiah 40:1-5.9-11, 2 Peter 3:8-14, Mark 1:1-8

 

It is the second Sunday of Advent. It is the second week of our preparation for the coming of the promised Messiah. Last Sunday, we read in the gospel according to St. Mark that the Messiah we are waiting for will come unexpectedly and in order that his coming never takes us by surprise, we were urged to always be spiritually alert. In this second Sunday, we have two prophets speak to us in the readings, still on this same theme of preparation for the Lord’s coming. They are Isaiah in the first reading (Isaiah 40:1-5.9-11) and John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, in the gospel reading (Mark 1:1-8).

The first reading is from the very beginning of the second (deutero) book of Isaiah- (Isaiah 40-55). This second book is exilic, written during the Babylonian exile to the Israelites who were languishing in captivity, waiting for a day of liberation. For seventy years, the people of Israel lived as slaves in Babylon and it was in that hopeless situation that the God’s words we hear in the first reading were spoken to them. The words are those of hope, comfort and consolation. With those words, Isaiah announced to them that their iniquities had been forgiven; that they had been redeemed and that they had been delivered from captivity and restored to their original position as the chosen people of God.

What we hear in the preaching of John the Baptist in the gospel reading about the coming of Christ is the definitive fulfillment of that prophecy of Isaiah. (Mark 1:1). Jesus Christ is the visible manifestation of the reign of God which Isaiah prophesied to the exiled people of Israel. According to Isaiah, when the Lord comes, he will liberate us from whatever is enslaving us. He will loosen every chain that is holding us captive. He will deliver us from the hands of our oppressors. However, for the Lord to come and for his glory to be revealed in us, the three readings of today invite us to first of all have a change of heart. We have to straighten, smoothen, level up and fill in whatever is out of shape in our spiritual life.

Similarly, St. Peter in the second reading tells us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief and while we long and wait for that day, we should be living holy and saintly life. We should live without spot or stain so that when the Lord comes, he will find us in peace (2 Peter 3:8-12). When the Lord comes and finds us prepared, he will speak to us those same words of comfort proclaimed by Isaiah. That the Lord will comfort us means that he will deliver us from the bondage of sorrow, enslavement, despair and pain. Like the exiled people of Israel, we have become captives in our own country. We long for deliverance from the ruthless hands of our corrupt leaders. We are also constantly enslaved to sin. We pray that the Lord’s coming may also deliver us. We need the Lord to come and deliver us from all that bothers us and deprives us of happiness. Lastly, when the Lord comes, may he find a fitting way prepared for him in our hearts. Amen.