Lk 3:1-6
Dear Friends, The Advent Season, connecting the end times and the coming of the Lord, addresses the Christian understanding of time. We call it Salvation History.
Today’s Gospel heralds the Good News of Jesus coming at a specific time as Luke delineates the political and religious leaders of the known world in that day. He opens to us a new day and invites us into the saving reality of God’s love as the true destiny of time and our lives. The shackles of hopelessness and blind fate are shattered with the Baptist’s announcement. By these words of the Baptist, all that was, all that is and all that is to come are engulfed in a reality that is pregnant with a gracious, irrevocable sense of hope. God has spoken and love will prevail.
On this Second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to meet this hope-drenched reality in the words of Baruch (5:19), Paul (Phil1:4-6, 8-11) and Luke. We are encouraged to look upon the brokenness and burdens of our life and world with eyes of hope and a longing heart seeking God’s presence that continually bursts through the darkness to reveal the light.
Previous to Biblical times, life was seen as part of a repeating cycle with no discernable beginning and no identifiable end.
Each of today’s readings is rooted in the Salvation History of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian gospel revelation, acknowledging the presence of God in time and in the personal history of our lives. This is a clear vision of time that is linear with a clear sense of direction and a final goal. Advent is an invitation into this Salvation History. Advent is calling each one of us to embrace this divine summons to walk with Jesus toward our true destiny, to be one with God.
Advent’s message of the coming of Jesus, delivers us from the hopeless cycle of the endless repetition of life and death. Without the gospel message, it so easy to feel trapped in a relentless cycle that excludes any meaningful purpose of hope. This leads to a sense of abandonment along with a crippling sense of the inevitable. We are blessed to have the saving gift this Advent. This holy Season gives us a clear goal and call to find direction and purpose in Jesus Christ. The Advent offer of hope is at the heart of today’s celebration.
An important part of today’s Advent festivity calls us to the awareness of the coming of Jesus, the completion of the redemption rooted in the Death and Resurrection. The first part of this season puts the emphasis on the second coming of the Lord. Only after the sixteenth of December do we direct our attention to the Incarnation. This initial focus on the second coming also helps us to see the emergence of God in our daily experience. It helps us to center our lives in the great gift of Salvation History.
Our Advent prayer, Come, Lord Jesus!, captures the need for deliverance fills our life and world. We need salvation. “All flesh will see the salvation of our God.” (Lk 6:6) The One we await offers us the glorious possibility of goodness, justice, peace and truth. To prepare for this advent of the Lord we need to open our hearts to change. We must overcome the valleys of our selfishness, the mountains of our many prejudices, the judgement of others and especially the neglect of the poor. We can, indeed, straighten all these difficult and crooked ways by a life in the footsteps of Jesus. The loving response to our daily responsibilities and relationships will open our hearts. It will lead the way to be ready for the coming of Jesus with a joyful hope and a heart longing for a new day. Come, Lord Jesus!
Today’s Gospel heralds the Good News of Jesus coming at a specific time as Luke delineates the political and religious leaders of the known world in that day. He opens to us a new day and invites us into the saving reality of God’s love as the true destiny of time and our lives. The shackles of hopelessness and blind fate are shattered with the Baptist’s announcement. By these words of the Baptist, all that was, all that is and all that is to come are engulfed in a reality that is pregnant with a gracious, irrevocable sense of hope. God has spoken and love will prevail.
On this Second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to meet this hope-drenched reality in the words of Baruch (5:19), Paul (Phil1:4-6, 8-11) and Luke. We are encouraged to look upon the brokenness and burdens of our life and world with eyes of hope and a longing heart seeking God’s presence that continually bursts through the darkness to reveal the light.
Previous to Biblical times, life was seen as part of a repeating cycle with no discernable beginning and no identifiable end.
Each of today’s readings is rooted in the Salvation History of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian gospel revelation, acknowledging the presence of God in time and in the personal history of our lives. This is a clear vision of time that is linear with a clear sense of direction and a final goal. Advent is an invitation into this Salvation History. Advent is calling each one of us to embrace this divine summons to walk with Jesus toward our true destiny, to be one with God.
Advent’s message of the coming of Jesus, delivers us from the hopeless cycle of the endless repetition of life and death. Without the gospel message, it so easy to feel trapped in a relentless cycle that excludes any meaningful purpose of hope. This leads to a sense of abandonment along with a crippling sense of the inevitable. We are blessed to have the saving gift this Advent. This holy Season gives us a clear goal and call to find direction and purpose in Jesus Christ. The Advent offer of hope is at the heart of today’s celebration.
An important part of today’s Advent festivity calls us to the awareness of the coming of Jesus, the completion of the redemption rooted in the Death and Resurrection. The first part of this season puts the emphasis on the second coming of the Lord. Only after the sixteenth of December do we direct our attention to the Incarnation. This initial focus on the second coming also helps us to see the emergence of God in our daily experience. It helps us to center our lives in the great gift of Salvation History.
Our Advent prayer, Come, Lord Jesus!, captures the need for deliverance fills our life and world. We need salvation. “All flesh will see the salvation of our God.” (Lk 6:6) The One we await offers us the glorious possibility of goodness, justice, peace and truth. To prepare for this advent of the Lord we need to open our hearts to change. We must overcome the valleys of our selfishness, the mountains of our many prejudices, the judgement of others and especially the neglect of the poor. We can, indeed, straighten all these difficult and crooked ways by a life in the footsteps of Jesus. The loving response to our daily responsibilities and relationships will open our hearts. It will lead the way to be ready for the coming of Jesus with a joyful hope and a heart longing for a new day. Come, Lord Jesus!
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