Posted: 12/1/2011 6:06:08 PM EDT
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December 4, 2011
First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." 9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" 10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Psalm: Psalm 85:9-14 R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD––for he proclaims peace to his people. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. The LORD himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way of his steps. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. Second Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-14 8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! 13 But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight –– " 4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ More Study Resources Overview of the Gospel: This Sunday’s reading is from the opening of St. Mark’s Gospel. The shortest of the four Gospels, Mark is marked by a sense of immediacy, which goes well with the themes of vigilance and preparation, which characterize the season of Advent. Mark does not relate any genealogies or infancy narratives, but as his gospel opens we are immediately shown the events leading up to the beginning of Jesus’ preaching ministry (Mark 1:14). We are also introduced to John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and precursor, who is preaching “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” that is, people were seeking forgiveness of their sins by their repentance. John’s baptism did not have the sacramental power to wash away sins like Christian baptism does as it lacked the power of the Holy Spirit conferred by Jesus after his Resurrection (verse 8; John 3:5, 20:22-23). John the Baptist was identified as a kind of Elijah the prophet from the Old Testament (2 Kings 1:8), returned to usher in the Messianic age (verses 2-3; Malachi 3:23-24; Mark 9:11-13; Matthew 17:10-12; Luke 1:17). He will also figure prominently in next week’s Gospel reading and several of the daily Mass readings throughout Advent. QUESTIONS: In the 1st Reading, what is coming to an end for God’s people? How are they to prepare for what’s coming? What will it look like when it finally arrives? In the 2nd Reading, what attitude does St. Peter advise us to have while awaiting the return of Jesus? With what does he say we should occupy ourselves during this time? What does Mark (and the Church) mean by “the gospel [good news] of Jesus Christ” (verse 1)? How would you explain the basic message to someone who asked? What do the contexts of the quotes in verses 2-3 (Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3; Exodus 23:20) teach about the “coming one”? Why is John the Baptist’s message so popular with the crowds (verses 4-5)? What does the Church teach about John (CCC 717-720)? Given John’s message (verses 7-8) what type of person are the crowds anticipating (see Isaiah 32:15-20)? What from your life illustrates what it means to “repent”? What can you do (or not do) to prepare for the Lord’s coming and to make this a more fruitful Advent? John the Baptist prepared “the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3; Isaiah 40:3). Who prepared the way of the Lord in your life? |
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One Bread, One Body
ARE YOU COMMITTED TO REPENTANCE?
"John the Baptizer appeared in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance which led to the forgiveness of sins." —Mark 1:4 During Advent, we "prepare the way of the Lord" (Is 40:3) as we await His Christmas coming. Today, the Church proclaims that a major way to prepare is to repent. John the Baptizer could never be accused of dabbling in repentance. Anyone watching John live day after day in a hot, arid desert, wearing camel-hair shirts and eating grasshoppers (Mk 1:6), would conclude that John was committed to repentance. Anyone watching Jesus stretch out His hands to be nailed to the cross and then hang in crucified, excruciating agony would have to conclude that Jesus was committed to the forgiveness of sins. Look at a crucifix for a minute, and you can't come to any other conclusion but that Jesus was serious when He called us to repent and reform our lives (Mk 1:15). Do we merely dabble in repentance, or will we make a commitment to repent? Will our Advent Confession reflect our commitment to "make every effort to be found without stain or defilement" in utter holiness? (2 Pt 3:14) Jesus wants "all to come to repentance" (2 Pt 3:9). "Commit to the Lord your way" (Ps 37:5). Prayer: Father, may I do no more preparations for this Christmas until I have made an Advent Confession. Promise: "Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him, glory dwelling in our land." —Ps 85:10 Praise: Praise You, risen Jesus. You gave Your all so that You could be our All. "I will extol You, O Lord, for You drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me" (Ps 30:2). |
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Prophecies Finally Fulfilled
Christ the Lord St Mark gets right to the point. The Old Testament quotation with which he introduces his Gospel would have been familiar to his readers. They would have recognized that it began one of Isaiah’s descriptions of the promised Messiah. Thus, Mark makes clear from the very beginning who Jesus Christ is: the long-awaited Savior, the fulfillment of the Father’s ancient promise, the one mightier than even the greatest of prophets.
Here is more of Isaiah’s prophecy, a prophecy that, as the rest of Mark’s Gospel will show, comes true in Jesus Christ: “Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by his strong arm; Here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care” (Isaiah 40:10-11). The awesome power of God flowing through the loving care of a gentle shepherd – this is Christ the Lord. All the physical characteristics St Mark describes about St John the Baptist echo his message; they also point to the Savior. He is baptizing in the Jordan River, a symbol of universal salvation, both for the Jews and for the Gentiles. The Israelites had miraculously crossed that river in order to enter into the Promised Land; Naaman the Syrian had bathed in the Jordan to induce his miraculous cure from leprosy. St John is wearing clothes reminiscent of those worn by the prophet Elijah, who was expected to reappear at the start of the messianic age. He also ate the only insect permitted by the Jewish law to be used as food – this fidelity to Old Testament regulations gives credibility to his preaching. The Lord is coming, and his precursor is worthy of his role. Read more: http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog/2011/11/30/6707#ixzz1fRJ3SVp8 |
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In the 1st Reading, what is coming to an end for God’s people? How are they to prepare for what’s coming?
What will it look like when it finally arrives? Finally the return of God's people to their Promised Land seems in sight after their long enslavement in Babylon. The new political strong-man, Cyrus the Persian, will become a tool of God's plan to return his people to Jerusalem. Cyrus and the Persian Empire will defeat the Babylonians. Eventually, Cyrus allows the Jews to return home. Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered. He left a lasting legacy on the Jewish religion through his Edict of Restoration, where because of his policies in Babylonia, he is referred to by the people of the Jewish faith, as "the anointed of the Lord" or a "Messiah." Of course, Cyrus pre-figures Jesus as the true Messiah. God speaking through Isaiah uses a very particular metaphor here: building a straight road. Think about it––the Jews were captured and enslaved by the Babylonians. What do slaves do? Many are tasked with building roads for their masters. So the exiled Jews would instantly recognize this image: build a road, but build a road home back to God. The physical act of road-building becomes the metaphor for Jews and people of faith to begin their own individual "inner" road building of repentance. During the time of Isaiah, conquered peoples were often put to work building roads for the victors. In the process of road building they would be filling in the valleys and cutting down the high places to make the road smoother. Sometimes roads would be built especially for the victorious ruler to ride in triumph. This would become the "king's way." The Jews in Babylon dreamed of the day when they would build their own "king's way" back to their homeland. It would be Yahweh, their king, who would ride triumphantly at the head of their pilgrimage home. It is of this dream that Isaiah writes today in the beginning of the part of his book which is known as the "Book of Comfort". So the image of a "straight road" really becomes their life's preparation for the way to God. In the gospel reading today, Mark quotes this passage from Isaiah in introducing John the Baptist. St. John the Baptist will point the way. We have to remember: he preached a baptism of repentance. Some call this a baptism of "the law," whereas when Jesus receives the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Lord and Savior baptizes with "grace." The Jews were to purify themselves, repent, and turn back to God. The outlook was for each pious Jew to return to their covenant with God. The Temple in Jerusalem would be the focal point, but all nations of the earth were to honor God. As Christians we are also called to be highway builders preparing the way for Christ to enter more fully into our lives. We are proclaimers of "glad tidings." Or, as Mark proclaims "The good news." 
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