Year C
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The jury seems to be out about when Baruch wrote his prophecy. Some say that he was Jeremiah’s secretary and that he wrote after the Babylonian exile, others that he preached a new beginning following the resumption of Temple worship in Jerusalem – it had been destroyed and violated by Antiochus Epiphanes, about whom we heard in the Advent Office of Readings.
Whenever he wrote, one thing is clear. He is offering an invitation for a new beginning, which fits him admirably into the Advent mood. Whatever it was that encouraged Baruch to proclaim a new beginning, he insisted, as he spoke to the people of Israel, that “God means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven”.
The idea of a new beginning plunges us neatly into the reality of the Church being a light to all nations. The change and conversion which Advent invites must connect with our mission and responsibility to allow the ‘splendour’ of the power of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Jesus to be shown forth to the people of our time. Personal holiness, the communion of the Church and the mission “Ad Gentes’ are inseparably and necessarily linked. Advent conversion must shine a light on our work of evangelisation.
St. Luke takes us deeper into the missionary challenge. It is worth noting how his message of repentance and the need to prepare a way for the Lord, removing all obstacles, is woven into the fabric of his own time and geography – no surprise if we believe in the Incarnation. We are not to be distracted by his possible chronological or political inaccuracy. Instead, he is inviting us to consider how the coming of the Lord is thoroughly immersed into the complexity of human experience. The love and invitation of God to join him in ‘life to the full’ (not ESV) is to be proclaimed by us to the world so that “All mankind shall see the salvation of God”. (Not ESV)
Possible questions to guide our reflection:
· What are the obstacles which we need to remove so that all nations will see our ‘splendour’ in Baruch’s sense: obstacles both personal and ecclesial?
· Our Sacrament of Reconciliation is about forgiveness. How do we make it more accessible to people who are not celebrating it and yearn for the healing it brings?
· What are the alternative opportunities, temptations, distractions and attitudes which prevent the people of our time and culture seeing the ‘splendour’ of Christ and the witness of the Christian family? What prevents people accepting the gift of faith?
· How can we as a Church be more effective in influencing global politics and in promoting a view of creation which sees it as sacred and a gift from God?
· How can our parish communities become more robust and effective in welcome and extending the hand of hospitality, “making rough roads smooth” for all who are seeking the meaning that only Jesus can give?
· Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, make us sharers in Jesus’s prophetic mission. How can we as the Lord’s disciples be formed as effective prophets and evangelists?
· This Sunday is the 8th December. I know the Immaculate Conception will be celebrated tomorrow. But mention might be made of how the Holy Spirit prepared Mary to become the Mother of the Lord?
Second Sunday of Advent
CCC 522, 711-716, 722: the prophets and the expectation of the Messiah
CCC 523, 717-720: the mission of John the Baptist
CCC 710: Israel’s exile foreshadowed the Passion
CCC 2532, 2636: Paul’s solicitude
The Introit for this Sunday (and also the Communion Antiphon) reflects the first reading, with its message of hope for Jerusalem/Sion. On this Second Sunday, the note of Advent hope is more pronounced, and offers a more positive contrast to the apocalyptic tone of the First Sunday. The sense of eagerness is found also in the Collect, which insists on haste as the mark of disciples. The image of Jerusalem is relevant too, as for Christians it is the imaginative goal of our pilgrimage.
This notion of haste as a mark of holiness might remind one of words from the Prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict, which might offer a good text for Advent: If we wish to dwell in the tabernacle of his kingdom, unless we run there with good deeds we shall not arrive ... then must we, while we are still in this body and can fulfil all these things by the light of this life, hasten to do now what may profit us for eternity. (Prologue, 4,6).
Advent Hymns
See Laudate Hymnbook - hymns 123-167
These hymns have been chosen from different sources.
Hark! A herald voice is calling (CFE243, L92)
O comfort my people (CFE523, L99, LHON505)
When John Baptised by Jordan's river (CFE 804, L173)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
