Second Sunday of Advent
In today’s gospel Luke provides us with very descriptive historical details. This kind of detail is rare in the gospels. Luke tells us who the Roman Emperor was (Tiberius Caesar), who the governor of Judea was (Pontus Pilate), who the regional leaders were (Herod, Phillip, and Lysanias), and who the high priest were (Annas and Caiaphas), when John the Baptist began his ministry. Surely, Luke was being intentional in giving these details. What do these details teach us?
I would like to suggest three things:
1. The Word of God Came to John in the Desert
Luke’s intentionality is seen in the person and the place where the word of God begins its work. The word of God did not come to the royalty or the political and religious leaders of the time. Rather, it came to a simple ascetic dressed in animal clothing whose name was John. As far as the “powers-that-be” were concerned, John was irrelevant. Besides the person to whom the Word of God came, it was also the location of the event that is important. It was not the palace or the homes of political figures or even the temple where the word of God came, rather it was in the desert. What is the significance of this? The gospels give us an answer. Of all the women, the word took flesh in the humble Mary; it was a simple righteous man, Joseph, to whom the angel appeared; it was the poor unassuming shepherds who first heard the news of the incarnation. What does the word of God have to do with the Caesars, the Pilates, the Herods, the Phillips, the Lysanias’ the Annas and Caiaphas’ of the world? Where arrogance, scandalous opulence, pretension, greed for power, self interest and exists, the word of God gets thwarted. On the contrary, the word of God needs the simplicity of John, the humility of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the poverty of the shepherds, and the search for truth that the wise men from the East exhibited. The word of God needs people and places where it may function unhindered. This advent, may we be the people and may we be at a place where God’s word can freely work.
2. Prepare the Way of the Lord.
How may the word of God find freedom in us? John the Baptist’s message “Prepare the way of the Lord,” is the best answer to this question. I think I can safely assume that each our lives is a mixed bag. Each one of is a strange combination of holiness and sin. There are parts of us that are simple, humble, obedient and open to God’s will. And then there are part of us that may represent the people and place where the word of God gets imprisoned. Where there is arrogance, greed, self interest and pretension in our lives, the word of God that gets shackled. These areas are precisely where we have the choice to “prepare the way of the Lord.” These precisely are the areas where we must “make straight his paths, fill up the valley and flatten the mountain, where the winding roads is made straight and the rough ways is made smooth.” If the word of God is to work unhindered in our lives, then we must shed our arrogance, greed, self-interest and pretensions.
3. All Flesh Shall See the Salvation of God.
On Tuesday, Pope Francis will inaugurate the Jubilee of Mercy. Both the words ‘Jubilee’ and ‘Mercy’ are significant. In the Hebrew calendar, every fiftieth year (7 years = Sabbath year, 7x 7 Sabbath years = 49 years, 50th year = Jubilee). is a Jubilee Year. According to Leviticus 25:10-14, the jubilee is a year of rest, restoration, and liberation for the land, the animals and all the people. Debts were forgiven, people returned to their original land that they may have lost, slaves were set free, and the land was left fallow so that it may rejuvenate itself. The word ‘mercy’ comes from Exodus 34:6. God revealed God’s self to Moses and people of Israel as The LORD, the LORD, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and fidelity….” When Pope Francis, in his document for the indication of the Jubilee of Mercy says, “Jesus Christ the face of the Father’s mercy,” he means that Jesus makes real the graciousness, the compassion, the steadfast love, the freedom and the faithfulness of God.” In declaring the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis is proclaiming the same message that John the Baptist did - “All flesh shall see the saving power of God.” In the midst of all the turmoil in the world, this is the time when there needs to a jubilee of mercy. This is the time when all flesh needs to see the graciousness, the mercy, the compassion, the love and the fidelity of God. This world is hurting so much. Pope Francis is asking the church and every person of goodwill to let love, mercy, compassion and peace have a free reign in our world. He calls “mercy” the primary mission of the Church. But the church is not the building but rather its people. It is through you and I that “all flesh will see the salvation of God.”
May our Eucharist help us to "prepare the way of the Lord," so that "all flesh may see the saving mercy of our God."
- Fr. Satish Joseph