Sunday 9 December 2012

Second Sunday in Advent

Baruch 5:1-9. Psalm 125. Rv.3. Philippians 1:3-6. 8-11. Luke 3:1-6

Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God.

What marvels the Lord worked for us.

I pray that your love for each other may increase more and more.

Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.

First reading

Baruch 5:1-9

Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress,

put on the beauty of the glory of God for ever,

wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you,

put the diadem of the glory of the Eternal on your head:

since God means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven,

since the name God gives you for ever will be,

‘Peace through integrity, and honour through devotedness.’

Arise, Jerusalem, stand on the heights

and turn your eyes to the east:

see your sons reassembled from west and east

at the command of the Holy One, jubilant that God has remembered them.

Though they left you on foot,

with enemies for an escort,

now God brings them back to you

like royal princes carried back in glory.

For God has decreed the flattening

of each high mountain, of the everlasting hills,

the filling of the valleys to make the ground level

so that Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God.

And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade

for Israel at the command of God;

for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory

with his mercy and integrity for escort.

The people returned from exile in 538 BC. This book is written some three hundred years later. The author who calls himself Baruch, the famous secretary of Jeremiah, writes to encourage Jews who have not returned but are scattered throughout the nations. The majority of Jews did not return. In their sufferings this book is a word of comfort, encouragement and promise.

We should be amazed that we are part of the mystery of existence. We exist and this is a profound and wonderful fact. Why? Because God wants to do wonderful things for us. He has great plans for us, if only we will cooperate with him. How can we cooperate with God? “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). If we do this, then God can do all he wants to do for us. Life is open ended, leading into the very mystery of God.

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Psalm

Psalm 125:1-6

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,

it seemed like a dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

on our lips there were songs.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels

the Lord worked for them!’

What marvels the Lord worked for us!

Indeed we were glad.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage

as streams in dry land.

Those who are sowing in tears

will sing when they reap.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

They go out, they go out, full of tears,

carrying seed for the sowing:

they come back, they come back, full of song,

carrying their sheaves.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

We can apply this Psalm to our life which is a journey, not to Jerusalem but into the mystery of God’s Life. We should allow God to lead us home.

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Second reading

Philippians 1:4-6,8-11

Every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present. I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes; and God knows how much I miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus loves you. My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.

The Day of the Lord for us, is the day we enter into the mystery of God, face to face. While looking forward to the Day of the Lord, we also prepare for it. God works this out in us, if we allow him. Since God is Love, we will only be fit for him when we too are entirely consumed by love. Then we will be pure and blameless.

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Gospel Acclamation

Lk3:4,6

Alleluia, alleluia!

Prepare a way for the Lord,

make his paths straight,

and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.

Alleluia!

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Gospel

Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrach of Abilene, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice cries in the wilderness:

Prepare a way for the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley will be filled in,

every mountain and hill be laid low,

winding ways will be straightened

and rough roads made smooth.

And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.

God is within you

When Elijah reached Mount Sinai, there was thunder and lightning, earthquakes and mighty winds with falling rocks. God was not in the fury of nature. (1 Kings 19:11) There came a gentle breeze, hardly noticeable. Elijah realized that God was passing by. Likewise, to meet and listen to God, enter into the cave of your heart. Listen to his voice...

God has a message of comfort for you. He did not create you by accident. He deliberately created you for bliss. He wants to give you life, abundant life, even now. He chose you and wants to share his splendour with you. Rest in the comfort of your own heart, knowing that God is with you and you are with God. His message for you is one word: Jesus! Jesus is for you.

The Good News that Jesus brought is for you. He tells you: God loves you, has chosen you, and wants to fill you with his blessings of peace and happiness right now.

This Advent, God wants you to meet Jesus Christ. God loves you and sends Jesus Christ for you. Through him, you have God’s life. He is calling you and you can meet him first in the silence of your own heart.

Advent is the time when we hear God’s invitation welling up through our spirit to welcome Christ Jesus into our life. As springs of water arise from the earth so God’s Word arises from your own heart. To be enlightened is to realise God’s presence within you and to listen to his gentle voice. He will deliver you from bondage as streams in dry land.

Is it just a voice crying in the wilderness? Are you too busy with your own affairs? ‘I have no time now’, ‘I go to church now and then, that’s enough for me’. Sad if that is the case. You are missing so much. It is sad for God too. You are precious in his eyes. He longs to bless you. Joy, peace, and happiness are waiting for those who can welcome Jesus as Lord and Saviour into their lives. “I no longer call you servants but my friends” John 15:15.

Is it all a dream, ‘pie in the sky’ or is Jesus real, someone we can know? Can Jesus enter into your life and make a difference? He knocks. What is your response?

Father, grant that I may enter into the cave of my heart and hear your words of peace spoken in love.