2nd Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8
The voice of one crying in the wilderness comes to us on this 2nd Sunday of Advent both as a prophetic poem about the restoration of the exiled in distress, and the proclamation of the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ to the world in the gospel in Mark. These texts could not be more timely, as we hear the words of injustice and mourning through the witness of our sisters and brothers living a season of deep sorrow in the land where our Savior was born.
The evangelist, the first to write about the advent of our Messiah, quickly establishes in the first verses what the incarnation of the Word was all about. Immanuel, God among us, came in response to those crying out of despair (Mark 1:1-3).
The prophet Isaiah announces God’s desire to bring forgiveness and comfort to the people out of desolation (Isaiah 40:1-3). Their ruin had come out of the neglect to become a beacon for justice, solidarity, and peace among the nations through the love of God and neighbor. But God promises to level the ground and create a safe path to their return (3-5). The timelessness of God’s words amid the withering of the grass and the fading of the flowers (7-8) echoes the lesson of the fig tree (Mark 13:28-31; https://wp.me/p9drFo-qG); and the response God expects from the gift of restoration is the reclamation of the divine mission of becoming hope for the world (9).
The author of 2 Peter reaffirms to an early Christian faith community that God does not wish anyone to perish but to undergo a genuine change of mind and heart (3:9). This state of repentance is the key to a holy relationship with God (11) and to find peace while waiting for the Lord’s presence, which brings righteousness and salvation to the world (13-15a).
The psalmist prays:
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people
and blotted out all their sins.
8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying;
for you speak peace to your faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to you.
Bridging Faith 