Journey Through Advent
Take some time during the week to prepare and reflect ahead of the Sunday Gospels.Second Sunday of Advent
GOSPEL
In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the pontificate of
Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley will be filled in,
every mountain and hill be laid low,
winding ways will be straightened
and rough roads made smooth.
And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
(Luke 3:1–6)
DID YOU KNOW?
• Luke goes to great lengths to describe the geographical and political world into which Jesus is born. God enters into human history at a specific time and place. The coming of Jesus for the salvation of the world is not a vague notion but a concrete event in time.
• The prophets of the Hebrew tradition were specially chosen people who spoke the word of God to Israel. John the Baptist is sometimes referred to as the last of the great prophets.
• Scholars believe that Jesus may well have spent some time as a disciple of the Baptist before embarking on his own public ministry.
EXPLORING THE WORD
The word of God that comes to John in the wilderness is not a word meant for him alone but is to be shared with all the people. John’s proclamation of the word of God ‘through the whole Jordan district’ is a precursor to Jesus’ instruction to his disciples ‘that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations’ (Luke 24:47).
• What new beginning are you being called to as you undertake your journey through Advent?
• What ‘sins of the past’ is all humanity being called upon to repent of in order to make a new beginning?
MAKING CONNECTIONS
• Are there paths in your life that need to be made straight, or hills and valleys that need to be levelled, in order to make it easier for the Lord to come to you?
• Who are the prophets of the modern age who call people back to fidelity to God’s plan for the world?
• Lord, this Advent, give me a welcoming heart. Help me be open to the messengers of your word, especially to those whom, at first glance, I might resist, for they are your prophets of today. They urge me to change my way of thinking and living.
• This week, try not to get bound up in the ‘Christmas cheer’ that dominates all around us. Choose instead, to concentrate on the waiting and the preparation for what is to come.
• The entrance antiphon for next Sunday is a lovely prayer for this week:
The Lord will come to save the nations,
and the Lord will make the glory of his voice heard in the joy of your heart.
For the time you spend in waiting— in traffic, on the phone, to cross the road, for the kettle to boil:
BREATH PRAYER
(Breathe in) Come, O Lord
(Breath out) Joy of my heart
Adapted from Summit Magazine, Archdiocese of Melbourne
Come along on a Journey Through Advent by taking time over the coming week to pray, reflect and prepare for
THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
GOSPEL
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’
(Luke 21:25–28, 34–36)
DID YOU KNOW?
• A recurring theme in the Advent gospels is looking towards the end times, when Christ will come again.
• Advent begins the cycle of readings for Year C in the Lectionary. This means that most of the gospel readings are taken from the Gospel of Luke.
EXPLORING THE WORD
Luke’s Gospel is written for a Gentile church community who are caught in ‘between’ times. The early Christians believed that Jesus would return soon as the Lord of Glory. As time passed, they had to rethink this belief.
Luke tells us how Christians are to live in the ‘in-between time’. They must be attentive to the Gospel and live in readiness to meet their God. They must not be distracted by the cares and snares of the world, but be ready to stand confidently before the Son of Man.
• What are the things in your life that distract you from the Gospel?
• What are some of the strategies that make it easier to be attentive to the important things in life?
MAKING CONNECTIONS
• In your life, what things have been ‘sprung on you suddenly’? How did you deal with such surprises?
• Consider your hopes and fears for the future. Are there particular goals you have set for yourself? How are you preparing for the future? What would you like that future to hold for you? Do you see
it as a time of uncertainty, or do you look forward with confidence?
• This Advent, be attentive to the time you spend in waiting— in traffic, on the phone, to cross the road, for the kettle to boil. Use these small moments of waiting to focus on, and prepare yourself for, the coming of Christ at Christmas.
BREATH PRAYER
(Breathe in) Come, O Lord
(Breath out) And set us free
Adapted from Summit Magazine, Archdiocese of Melbourne