Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Cycle C)
Readings:
Baruch 5:1-9
Psalm 126:1-6
Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
Luke 3:1-6
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The words LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, and that is why we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Church's Universal Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Let Us Make the Journey
Together
The First Reading sets the theme of our readings. First, it describes
the promised joyful return of the Jewish exiles of the Babylonian captivity to
Jerusalem in the 6th century BC. Then, the passage looks beyond that
historic return to the journey of redeemed humanity to the heavenly New
Jerusalem of Christ the King.
The Psalm Reading is one of the so-called "Songs of Ascent" that pilgrims sang on the journey up the Judean mountains to the holy city of Jerusalem to celebrate the annual feasts and worship in the Jerusalem Temple. In the hymn, the pilgrims remember the joyful journey of the returning exiles to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. However, this "Song of Ascent" can also be seen as the symbolic anticipation of all the righteous as they continue their earthly journeys with the hope that they may one day ascend to worship in the heavenly New Jerusalem Jesus has prepared for His redeemed people.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul prays for the Christian community at Philippi. He writes to praise them for their growth in charity, characterized by their "love in action." Such works, he tells them, are a supernatural virtue that includes wisdom in discerning the will of God for the lives of the community that leads them to attain a better knowledge of God and thereby a greater union with Him. Moreover, a more vital unity prepares them (and us when we follow the same path) in holiness for "the Day of Christ," when Jesus will return in glory to receive His holy Church.
In the Gospel Reading, we learn that St. John the Baptist is the mysterious, unidentified prophetic voice from Isaiah's prophecy in the 8th century BC (Is 40:3-5). His is the voice that announced the coming of God among His people in Jesus's First Advent, and the all-encompassing change His arrival will have on the world. Nothing will stand in His way to hinder His coming or message, and all humanity will see the salvation of God (Is 40:5; Lk 3:6).
All of our readings for this Sunday remind us that we are making a journey through our earthly exile in this life on our way to eternal salvation in the promised heavenly Jerusalem. The Season of Advent is an especially appropriate time to reflect on that journey. We are called during Advent to respond anew to St. John's prophetic voice. We need to confess and repent those sins that separate us from God, to make straight our paths on the journey of salvation, and to pray that all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Is 40:5b; Lk 3:6). As a covenant people, we must take the time to prepare ourselves to relive the events of the First Advent of the Messiah. We do this with the knowledge that we must remain vigilant for the possibility that Christ could return at any moment to judge the world and receive the righteous into His everlasting glory in the New Jerusalem of the redeemed!
The First Reading Baruch 5:1-9 ~ The Joyful Journey to Jerusalem
1 Jerusalem, take
off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God
forever, 2 wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear
on your head the miter that displays the glory of the eternal name. 3 For God will show all the earth your splendor,
4 you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory
of God's worship. 5 Up, Jerusalem!
Stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from
the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are
remembered by God. 5 Led away on
foot by their enemies they left you, but God will bring them back to you borne
aloft in glory as on royal thrones. 7 For
God has commanded 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. 8 The forests and
every fragrant kind of tree have overshadowed Israel at God's command; 9 for God is leading Israel in joy by the light
of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company.
Jewish and Christian traditions identify Baruch, the secretary and companion of the 6th century BC prophet Jeremiah, as the inspired writer of the Book of Baruch (Jer 36:1-31; 43:1-7). The book's purpose is to impress upon later generations the circumstances of the Jews living in Babylon and the spirit of repentance necessary to bring their exile to an end and return them to the Promised Land and worship in the holy city of Jerusalem. The promise of the exiles' return is the theme of this passage. However, it looks beyond the physical journey home to the Promised Land for the 6th-century BC exiles. It also encourages us to reflect on the spiritual journey of all the earthly exiles of the righteous in every generation. All people who love God and are called to His service make the spiritual journey to the Promised Land of the heavenly Jerusalem and the eternal future of the redeemed.
Baruch presents a picture of the returning faithful remnant of the exiles singing a song of joy as they make the homeward journey to Jerusalem. In verses 1-2, they are told to set aside their garments of mourning. Instead, they are to figuratively put on a robe of righteousness and a crown of glory to display the divine name of Yahweh, like the sacred vestments and the head plate the Jewish high priest wore that bore the words "Sacred to Yahweh" (Ex 29:36-38; 39:30). The willingness to return to Jerusalem is symbolic of a spiritual renewal of the covenant people. They will become a sign to other nations of the earth of the peace of God's justice and the glory that comes from worshiping of the One True God in the Jerusalem Temple (verses 3-4).
Verses 5-9 have an eschatological (end times) theme and promise a restoration that will extend beyond the Old Covenant people to embrace the entire world. The passage has parallels in the books of the prophets (e.g., Is 40:4-5; 49:18-22; 60:1-4; Jer 30:15-22; etc.), and an especially strong link to St. John's vision of the Messianic Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation 21:1-4. Christ is our peace and our justice, and He is the glory of God promised in the passage. Jesus Christ demonstrates the piety with which we should ascend to our worship, and when we follow His example, we too will experience the spiritual renewal that will lead to the Promised Land of Heaven. St. Irenaeus (martyred AD 202) wrote concerning the promise of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation: "No allegorical interpretation of this can be given: everything is true and clear and defined, and God desires that it be so for the glory of righteous men. God raises man from the dead, and when the Kingdom comes, man will be brought to life with incorruptibility and made strong, and he will welcome in the glory of the Father. When everything has been renewed, he will truly live in the city of God" (Against Heresies, 5.35.2).
Responsorial Psalm 126:1-6 ~ Remembering When Yahweh Brought
Back the Captives
The response is: "The Lord has done great things for
us; we are filled with joy."
1 When the LORD
brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and
our tongue with rejoicing.
Response:
Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done
great things for them." 3 The LORD
has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.
Response:
4 Restore our
fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert. 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
Response:
6 Although they go
forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying
their sheaves.
Response:
This psalm is one of the "Songs of Ascent" that pilgrims sang on their journey up to the holy city of Jerusalem to worship Yahweh at the Temple. It was the only place on earth where the faithful could offer legitimate sacrifice and worship to Yahweh (Dt 12:4-6, 11-12, 13-14; 2 Chron 3:1). In the psalm, the joy of the returning Jewish exiles from the Babylonian captivity is remembered in the pilgrim's hymn of praise and thanksgiving as they too make their journey to the holy city. Verses 1-3 begin by describing the joy the pilgrims feel returning to Jerusalem thanks to the work of the Lord Yahweh. Then in verses 4-6, they petition God to bring back all the exiles who profess belief in Him, from wherever they might be in the world, to share in their good fortune and the joy of their redemption.
The gratitude and joy expressed for God's great works in the psalm also appear in the Virgin Mary's hymn of thanks and praise in the Magnificat where she prayed: "For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name" (Lk 1:49). The hope of returning to God for all who find themselves separated from Him expressed in the psalm finds fulfillment in the great work of God in the Incarnation and Resurrection of God the Son. He came to bring all humanity the joy of restoration and the promise of the ascent to the heavenly Jerusalem.
The Second Reading Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11 ~ The Day of
Christ Jesus
(Brothers and sisters*) 4 I
pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, 5 because of your partnership for the Gospel
from the first day until now. 6 I
am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue
to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. [...] 8 God is my witness, how I long for all of you
with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And
this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge
and every kind of perception, 10 to
discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of
Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of
righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
*The phrase "brothers and sisters" does not appear in the Greek text.
Our passage is from St. Paul's letter to the Christian community of Philippi in Macedonia. It was the first European Christian community Paul founded on his second missionary journey in AD 50/51 (Acts 16:12-40). He may also have visited them twice during his third missionary journey (see Acts 20:1-2, 3:1). The letter demonstrates that St. Paul had a special affection for this community.
St. Paul's joy in Philippian Christians is one of the themes of his letter. The very thought of them brings him happiness because they have remained faithful to the Gospel from the day he founded them as a Christian community (verses 4-5). Paul will write to the Galatians that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). It is also a Christian virtue intimately connected to works of charity (love in action) from which it derives as a gift of a soul in the grip of divine grace (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 2-2:23.4). Joy is a gift resulting from union with God and acknowledgment of His loving providence toward His creation. Joy gives Christians the experience of the peace of God in all their relationships and all circumstances. It is a work of grace God endows all the faithful and will come to completion on "the day of Jesus Christ" in His Second Advent (verse 6). Notice that St. Paul mentions the promised return of Christ twice, in verses 6 ("the day of Christ Jesus") and 11 ("the day of Christ"). It is a future event that should always be on the mind of every Christian.
8 God is my witness,
how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
St. Paul identifies so entirely with his Lord that he says
he has the same affection for the Philippian community as Christ. Supernatural
love raises human affection to a higher level. Paul's letter is an example of
how the two kinds of love, human and divine, are intertwined in the Christian.
Pope St. Leo XIII taught: "Love of neighbor has to go hand in hand with charity
and love of God, for all mankind shares in God's infinite goodness and are made
in his image and likeness" (Sapientiae Christianae, 51-52).
9 And this is my
prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every
kind of perception, 10 to discern
what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that
comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
In verses 9-11, Paul prays that the community's love will grow
with their knowledge and discernment. The word "discernment" is from the Latin
meaning "to distinguish between, determine, resolve, decide" (Modern Catholic
Dictionary, page 111). Discernment is spiritual wisdom that enables the Christian
to view events in life in a supernatural light and make decisions based on the
will of God for their lives. It was gifted at Pentecost when the Church became
infused with the divine essence of God the Holy Spirit and is why Christians no
longer make decisions based on casting lots as was the practice in the Old Covenant
Church before the coming of the Holy Spirit (Ex 33:7;
1 Sam 14:41; Acts 1:26). After
receiving the gift of discernment at Pentecost, which all Christians now
receive in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, Christians now pray for discerning
the will of God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
In this passage, Paul's prayers for the community concern growth in charity, characterized by love in action towards members of the human family. Since such works are a supernatural virtue, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "one needs to ask God to increase it, since God alone can bring that about in us" (Commentary on Philippians). Growth in discerning the will of God for our lives means attaining a more intimate knowledge of God and thereby greater unity with Him. Such an increased unity prepares us in holiness for "the Day of Christ," when He will return in glory to receive His holy Church as His Bride.
The Gospel of Luke 3:1-6 ~ Prepare the Way of the Lord
1 In the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was
governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of
Abilene, 2 during the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of
Zechariah in the desert. 3 He
went throughout [the] whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as
it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one
crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made
straight, 6 and the rough
ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar
When Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar died on August 19th,
AD 14, Tiberius, his stepson and heir, succeeded him. The first year of
Tiberius' reign, therefore, began on August 19th, AD 14. The 15th
year is then, as the ancient's counted without the concept of a zero place-value,
August of AD 28. The ancient system of counting without a zero place-value is the
reason Scripture records, and we still repeat, that Jesus was in the tomb for
three days from Friday to Sunday (even parts of days or years counted). It is
also why Scripture records that a woman carried a child for ten months
(Wis 7:1-2), and why Jesus suffered on the Cross for six hours, giving up His life
at the beginning of the seventh hour, from the third to the ninth hours Jewish
time (from 9 AM to 3 PM; see Mk 25:15, 33-34, 37). See the book "Jesus and the
Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice" available from Amazon.
Notice in verses 1-2 that St. Luke first places the beginning of St. John the Baptist's ministry during the reign of the political leaders, followed by the administration of the religious leaders. The "Herod" referred to is Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great and Malthace. Philip is another son of Herod the Great by his wife, Cleopatra of Jerusalem. The title "tetrarch" in verse 1 meant "ruler of a quarter." However, it became the title of a subordinate prince, as in the case of Herod's younger sons Herod Antipas and Herod Philip. Abilene was a territory northwest of Damascus ruled by a Roman ally named Lysanias (verse 1). Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect of Judea, Samaria, and Idumaea from AD 26-36.
St. Luke also situates St. John's ministry during the reign of Judea's religious leaders: the High Priest Annas (AD 6-15) and his successor who condemned Jesus, his son-in-law Joseph Caiaphas (AD 18-37). God called Jesus's older relative (by six months as the ancients counted), St. John, son of the chief priest Zechariah (Lk 1:13, 36, 57), to begin his ministry in the same way God had called His other prophets (Is 6:8; Jer 1:4; 2:1; Ez 1:2; 2:1-3; Ho 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1-2; etc.). See the chart on the rulers of Judea.
St. Luke further emphasizes the nature of John's divine call by quoting from the book of the 8th -century BC prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:3-5, a passage also quoted in part by the other Gospel writers (Mt 3:3, Mk 1:3, and Jn 1:23). Matthew quotes verse 3 from the Isaiah text (Mt 3:3), as does the Gospel of John (Jn 1:23). However, only Luke quotes the entire passage of Isaiah 40:3-6, A voice of one crying out in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
Through the prophet Isaiah, God promised a new Exodus similar to the first Exodus liberation when God liberated the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery, brought them through the desert wilderness to rescue them and secure their salvation (Dt 33:2; Ps 68:7-8). The passage poetically announces that God will remove all obstacles, and nothing will hinder His coming or the message of His gift of salvation to humanity. The paths and roadways that must be made straight are not physical thoroughfares but the people's lives that must avoid the crooked ways of sin that have become obstacles/mountains that separate them from God. They must come to the straight paths of righteousness that lead to salvation. But the mysterious prophetic voice in the Isaiah 40:3-5 passage is not a person or agent of God in the Book of Isaiah. Instead, the unidentified prophetic voice announces a turning point in salvation history in the coming of God among His people and the wondrous, all-encompassing change the Lord's coming will have on the world. So, who is the prophetic voice?
Notice the universal theme of the Isaiah passage that is similar to Simeon's prophecy in Luke 2:30-32 at Jesus's Temple presentation after His birth. Isaiah says that "all flesh shall see the salvation of God" and compare that statement to Simeon's announcement as he held the Christ-child in his arms: "your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." Simeon announces the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in the child he held!
The Isaiah passage relates to St. John the Baptist's mission and Simeon's prophecy in Luke 2:30-32. In quoting from the Isaiah passage, the Gospel writers all identified St. John the Baptist as the previously unidentified prophetic voice crying out in the wilderness of Judea and Perea on the east side of the Jordan River (Jn 1:19-28). His mission was to prepare the way for the coming of the Davidic Redeemer Messiah (e.g., Is 11:10-12; Jer 23:5-6; Ez 34:23-24). He fulfilled that mission by calling the covenant people to repent their sins and turn back to God so they could receive the gift of the Gospel of salvation and be the bearers of the message of that gift (voiced in Simeon's prophecy) to the peoples of the world. As he held baby Jesus, Simeon praised God, saying, "for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel" (Lk 2:30-32).
In our journey during the season of Advent, we respond anew to St. John's prophetic voice. God calls us to confess and repent the sins that separate us from Him, to make straight our paths on the journey of salvation, and to pray that all flesh shall see the salvation of God. We must take the time to prepare to relive together, as a covenant people, the First Advent of the Messiah and to prepare for the possibility that He could come again at any moment a second time to receive all His faithful and righteous disciples into His glory!
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Isaiah 40:3-6 (CCC 719*, 990*)
Philippians 1:4-6 (CCC 2636*); 1:9-11 (CCC 2632*)
The prophets and the expectation of the Messiah (CCC 522*, 711*, 712*, 713*, 714*, 715*, 716*, 722*)
The mission of John the Baptist (CCC 523*, 717*, 718*, 719*, 720*)
Israel's exile foreshadowed the Passion (CCC 710*)
St. Paul's solicitude (CCC 2532, 2636*)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; revised 2021 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.