First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (40:1-5, 9-11)

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made plain; the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by His strong arm; here is His reward with Him, His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers the lambs, carrying them in His bosom, and leading the ewes with care.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (85:9-10, 13-14)

(R) Lord, let us see you kindness, and grant us your salvation.

I will hear what God proclaims; the Lord - for He proclaims peace to His people. Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him, glory dwelling in our land. (R)

Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the Earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. (R)

The Lord Himself will give His benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before Him, and prepare the way of His steps. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Peter (3:8-14)

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay His promise, as some regard "delay", but He is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the Earth and everything down on it will be found out.

Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of the God, because of which the heaven will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. But according to His promise we await new heavens and a new Earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before Him, at peace.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to Mark (1:1-8)

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Today we start the second week of Advent. The word "advent" comes from the Latin word adventus which means "coming" or "arrival", especially the arrival of someone expected. Who is coming and who is waiting? God is coming and we are waiting. What are we talking about? Are we still really waiting for the coming of God? Scriptures tell us that God has already come in the person of His Son Jesus Christ who dwelt among us, preached the Good News of God, healed the sick, died on the cross and on the third day rose and then forty days later ascended into heaven and ten days later descended on the apostles in the form of the Holy Spirit. So what does Advent mean to us?

Advent is a time during which we re-live our longing for God just like the chosen people, the Israelites did long ago. They waited for thousands of years for the first coming of God who came in the person of His Son Jesus Christ to redeem them and the whole of humankind. As a matter of fact God had been reaching out to humanity in very many forms and ways since the creation of the world, before He finally and fully revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Upon the completion of the four weeks of advent, therefore, we solemnly and joyfully commemorate the great event of God becoming a man in the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December. The Old Testament prophets called the event "The Day of the Lord". For instance, the prophet Isaiah (13:9), declared, "Look, the Day of Yahweh is coming, merciless, with wrath and burning anger, to reduce the country to a desert and root out the sinners from it." The New Testament writers use different terms of reference interchangeably such as the Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ, the coming of our Lord, the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the return of Christ and so on. In his letter Peter described the Latin word parousia as the second coming of Christ or the Day of the Lord as proclaimed in the Old Testament and urged the early Christians to be ready always for the coming of the Day of God.

At the time of this writing it had been several decades since Christ ascended into heaven, and Peter and other followers had heard the promise that Jesus would return as he had promised. But Jesus did not return during their time. For many believers it seemed like a long wait between Jesus' first coming and his second coming. Non-believers began to ridicule their Christian faith. But Peter encouraged them by saying that "with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day." His words do not mean that God keeps time differently than we do but he simply wanted them to understand that God is outside the realm of space and time. If it had taken thousands of years to prepare His chosen people for His first coming, only God Himself knows how long the wait will be for His second coming. Moreover, Peter cautioned the believers that the Lord does not delay His promises as some would think, but He patiently waits for the repentance of all people. God is not bound by space or time. Christ's return isn't on our time schedule nor depends on our faithfulness. But rather God is in control. He will come and do things in His own time and not ours. That's why Peter said that the Day of the Lord will come but it will come "like a thief."

Peter reminded them that we do not know when Jesus will return but we are certain that He will, and when He does return we must be ready to welcome Him. How are we to prepare and be ready? He said that while we are waiting for the Lord to come on His own terms and in His own time, we are to be prepared by being holy, devoted, spotless, blameless and at peace.

Friends, many of us probably find ourselves asking, "Why hasn't Jesus returned physically even after over two thousand years?" "Is he ever going to get here?" Many people perhaps may mock our faith by saying for sure he would not come. There is much uncertainty and division about when he is coming, how he will come and what will happen before he comes and so on. While Advent is a time the Church has set aside to help us spiritually prepare ourselves to celebrate the Feast of Christmas our whole life is an advent, preparing for the second coming of Jesus Christ. At Baptism, a personal call has been made to each of us to undergo the real test of our ability to live as true Christians. Therefore, let us not be too concerned about the end of time or our own death, but rather be open and ready to welcome him when he does return in his way and in his time. As we wait for his return, like Saint Paul has instructed us through his letter to the Corinthians which we heard last week, let us thank God unceasingly for His grace in Christ and all the gifts He has bestowed upon us. And also as Peter has instructed, let us conduct ourselves in holiness and devotion. What Peter really means to say is that we need to eliminate deceit, hypocrisy, envy, selfishness, anger, hate, resentment, slander, malice, despair, bitterness and all evil so that whenever and whatever form and means the Lord comes, He may find us ready and at peace. When our hearts are full of gratitude, hope and peace God will truly reveal Himself in many ways and many times. If we lay aside our pain, suffering, illness, grief, financial difficulties and wait for His return with gratitude, hope and peace, God will surely come to our aid.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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