December 10, Second Sunday of Advent
Readings: Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11; 2 Peter 3:8–14; Mark 1:1–8
As we light the ‘peace candle’ on the Second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to make peace with God through our remorse and repentance. All the readings emphasize making peace with God through our reformed lives.
The first reading begins with ‘comfort’ from God. For people battered in life, God’s message of comfort is also a message of reconciliation. The coming of the Lord will straighten things out between God and His people. The coming of the Lord signifies peace. God's coming in peace is Israel’s comfort.
The second reading highlights the saving plan of God, according to which everyone will be saved and none should perish. Through our repentance, we open the door to holiness and devotion. This repentance is also the only way to enjoy peace.
The Gospel passage on ‘John the Baptist preparing the way for the Lord’ is again about the theme of repentance, which is being continued from the first reading itself. John the Baptist’ is reconciling people with God through their repentance. John's baptism is a confirmation of people's repentance.
For the kind of preparation John makes ahead of God’s coming, the very person of John the Baptist is a symbol. We find it in three ways.
John the Baptist proclaimed repentance and, therefore, peace. John’s mission is known chiefly through the baptism of repentance he administers. They made peace with the Lord by choosing to receive baptism.
John the Baptist was at ‘peace’ with himself. Even in his appearance, John the Baptist symbolized his message. He was not just the messenger but the message itself—in word and life.
John the Baptist was at peace with God. John the Baptist points beyond himself to Jesus. By embracing a mission of peace, by being a person in whom peace was symbolized, and by being truthful to God through his mission, John the Baptist proves himself to be a missionary of peace.
The second Sunday of Advent emphasizes repentance as a credible way to make peace with God. Let us make peace with God and await His coming!
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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