SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YR C
Baruch 5:1-9; Ps 126;
Phil. 1:4-6,8-11; Luke 3:1-6
THE LORD WILL COME FOR US
Preparation is very important for anything we want to do. Even at the second week of Advent we can already hear and see preparations for Christmas. We can see people already fixing the lights, the Christmas colours are already out in our decorations. Every one of us in one way or another is preparing for Christmas. But what preparations are we making for Jesus in our hearts. In fact the purpose of Advent is the spiritual preparation of our hearts for the Lord.
The season is in two folds; a preparation for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ as King and Judge and then preparing to celebrate the nativity of our Lord.
When we listen very well to the songs, reading and prayers proposed for this Sunday, they are meant to help us prepare for the second coming of our Lord.
Our First reading is from the Book of Baruch. It is set in Babylon and was written to encourage the exiles who had been deported by Nebuchadnezzar as we saw last week. It talks about the restoration of Jerusalem. That the city that has been destroyed and deprived off her children will be restored. This is a result of the people who have endured and have abandoned themselves to the Lord in sorrow for their waywardness. When we repent and resolve to do better the Lord will come to our aid and save us. for us the good news is that, we would have a place in heaven, the New Jerusalem.
For us to fully realise this salvation that God brings us, “that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God. (Baruch 5:7)
The “lofty mountains” to be made low can be seen in our feelings of self-sufficiency. When we feel that we can live this life by our own thinking and desires and not adhering to the commands of God; When we kick God out of our lives, and his word no longer influences our decisions, we are on a lofty mountain. The lofty mountains of anger, pride, revenge, suspicion and prejudice must all be brought low.
The “age-old depth and gorges” are the instances of our weaknesses in character. These can be seen in our luck of kindness and compassion, our luck of respect for others, our luck of personal prayer life and even luck of reading the Bible.
The lofty mountains mess up our lives and the valleys make us helpless to achieve true Christian and Christlike virtues. What is your lofty mountain? What is your age-old depth and gorges (weakness)?
How will our preparation this year be different if we think about it as a preparation for death? What if we take it more seriously that Jesus could just come this time? The fact that we do not know when he will come makes every moment a moment for expectation.
This is the true reason for advent; to prepare for the coming of Jesus and for our death.
How are you getting ready?
God bless you.
BY Rev. Delight Arnold Carbonu
