SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT B

[cappie]

The perennial challenge during Advent and Christmastime is to hear anew the familiar story we all know. We have set up the Nativity Scene with the Holy Family, Ox, Donkey, and Shepherds. It has become almost too familiar. In part, that is why we have the season of Advent. These four weeks serve to prepare the way to Christmas  so that we can hear the good news of Jesus’ incarnation afresh and let the gospel sink more deeply into our lives.

This year for many, this does not feel like the usual joyous march toward Christmastide. Hundreds of thousands around the globe will be spending their first Christmas without a loved one who has passed on due to the pandemic. Millions more will be attempting a celebration without their usual large and festive gathering, due to travel restrictions.  And yet, while the harshness of wilderness may be felt more deeply this year, the same ageless truths remain constant. The fundamental truth is that we are waiting on an imperfect and broken world to pass. The season of Advent reminds us that no matter who we are or where we are in time or space, all earthly things will come to an end.

Nearly 30 centuries ago, Isaiah wrote to God’s exiled people, who were longing to return home. God’s message to them is one of comfort. The Lord is coming.   The comfort comes by putting things into a divine perspective.  The goodness of God will prevail. The prophet does not give an immediate timeframe or an immediate solution to the heartbreak and suffering of the people in exile; what is offered instead is a message of hope for the future.

Second Peter is also written to a people longing for God’s return.    This epistle was written to the fledgling Christian community experiencing persecution at the hands of the ruling empire. They are looking for Jesus’ return and immediate relief from their suffering.  The author says that God’s lack return is not to cause more suffering but instead is an act of love and patience. Once again, we are given a word of hope for the future, but we are also given instructions on how to live in the present: “ Do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace.”

In our gospel reading, we read the very beginning of the Gospel of Mark. The prophet John the Baptist proclaims in the wilderness a familiar message.  Though crowds flock to John—the reading says, “ All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, ”. John points to a hopeful future by promising one who will come baptizing, not with mere water but with the eternal Holy Spirit.

Our readings also show us that waiting is not a passive action. We are to live out our hope. In waiting for the fullness of the Kingdom of God, we proclaim God’s message of justice. We name sin. We turn toward justice. We stand in the wilderness, pointing to the one more powerful than us

Our Advent message from John is  that we are called to be a people that await the coming of the Lord. We are always in waiting—through victory and defeat, triumph, and loss. It is certainly our job as the church to proclaim peace on earth, goodwill towards all, and joy to the world. But it is just as much our job to be visible in the wilderness, pointing to the Christ, the one who is more powerful, more patient, and more loving. We point to the Christ, the one who is to come.

This Advent, many are already in the wilderness. Let us step back and pray for a glimpse of the divine perspective. We remember that all things here on earth are temporary and ephemeral, and we work to embody God’s patience and love here in this world. Let our lives be shaped by our hope in the truth that God is coming.