Reflection/Homily:
Second (2nd) Sunday of Advent (December 7, 2014)
Theme:
The Voice of John the Baptist
A
certain time in the lives of the Israelites, they offended God by indulging in
all sorts of immorality and idolatry and as a result, the wrath of God fell on
them. They were taken into captivity by the Babylonians where they suffered and
wept terribly (cf. Ps. 137). At a time, God had mercy on them and sent the
Prophet Isaiah to console them. It
was at this time that the Deutro-Isaiah declared the prophetic words we heard
in the first reading (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11). The
reading also speaks of “a Voice” crying in the wilderness and calling on
everyone to prepare the way for Yahweh. The Gospel reading (Mark 1:1-8)
identifies this voice as that of John the Baptist who came to prepare the way
for Jesus. John was only a pre-cursor to the messiah. He was always pointing to
his arrival, making people conscious of and prepared for his arrival. He was
that voice crying in the wilderness (cf. John 1:23) and the messenger spoken
about in the first reading who will prepare the way for the Lord’s coming (cf.
Is. 40:3).
