First Reading Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
Isaiah tells the people to prepare a way for the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 85:9-14
The Lord’s salvation is near.
Second Reading 2 Peter 3:8-14
Peter teaches that we must always be holy because the return of the Lord cannot be predicted.
Gospel Reading
Mark 1:1-8
John the Baptist preached repentance and baptized the people, in preparation for the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Background on the Gospel Reading
Today’s Gospel is taken from the beginning of Mark. Unlike Luke and Matthew, Mark does not include any details of Jesus’ birth. Instead Mark begins with the appearance of John the Baptist in the desert. On this the Second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to reflect upon the role of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus and the salvation that he would bring to us.
Mark’s description of the appearance of John the Baptist highlights John’s continuity with the Jewish prophetic tradition. Mark combines quotations from the Old Testament books of Malachi, Isaiah, and Exodus. Mark’s description of John as an ascetic, living in the desert, clothed in camel hair, and eating locusts and wild honey, is reminiscent of the description of the prophet Elijah found in Second Kings. The people of Judea and Jerusalem flock to him, listening to his message of repentance and forgiveness; they also come to him to be baptized. Mark’s Gospel is clear, however, that John the Baptist’s role is only to prepare the way for another who will come, one who is greater than John.
Many scholars believe that the Gospels reflect the tension that likely existed between followers of John the Baptist and disciples of Jesus. Each of the four Evangelists report on John’s preaching and baptizing, and they each emphasize the importance of Jesus’ baptism by John. The four Gospels also explain that John was sent to preach in preparation for another. In the Gospel of Luke, the question is raised as to whether John the Baptist was himself the Messiah. Just as in today’s Gospel, however, John speaks quite explicitly that the Messiah was to come after him.
In today’s Gospel we hear John the Baptist contrast his baptism of repentance with the baptism that Jesus will inaugurate. John says that he has baptized with water, but that the one who is to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit. John’s baptism was not yet a Christian baptism, but a preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism through which sins are forgiven and the gift of the Holy Spirit is received.
John the Baptist is presented to us as a model during Advent. We, too, are called upon to prepare a way for the Lord. Like John the Baptist, we are messengers in service to one who is greater than we are. Our Baptism commissions us to call others to life as disciples of Jesus.
October 25 -Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
October 18 - Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary time Year A
September 11 - Twenty Eighth Sunday In ordinary time Year A
September 04 - Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
September 27 - Twenty Sixth Sunday in ordinary Time Year A
September 20 - Twenty fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A : God's generous mercy
September 13- Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time :
September 6 - Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time :
August 30 - Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time :
August 23 - Twenty first Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 16 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 9 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time :
August 2 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time : Small is Great
July 26 – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time : There's no way to measure what Jesus is worth
July 19 – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time : God gives many chances
July 12 - Fifteenth Sunday of the Ordinary Time: God’s Word
July 5 – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time : Being gentle
June 21 - Feast of Sts Peter and Paul : To love Jesus in life and in death
June 14 - Corpus Christi - The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ
June 7 - Trinity Sunday : God's Love overflows
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