December 6, 2020

Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” – November-December 2020

2nd Sunday of Advent (B)
2nd week proper

FIRST READING

From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (Is 40:1-5, 9-11)
“Comfort, comfort my people - says your God -. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her warfare is ended, her guilt is expiated, because she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.” A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion! Lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good news to Jerusalem. Lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah: “Here is your God! Here is the Lord God who comes with power; his arm rules. Here is his reward with him, and his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; with his arm he gathers the lambs and carries them in his bosom, and gently leads the mother sheep.” - The word of God.

Commentary on the first reading

True “comfort” has arrived. There is no need to hide anymore. Let us proclaim from rooftops, balconies, house terraces, and the highest mountains that the Lord of life and history is about to be born. In today’s reading, this reciprocal attitude - allowing ourselves to be comforted by God and offering comfort in God’s name - becomes an imperative to repeat until exhaustion: “Comfort, comfort...”. Once again, the sacred text reminds us of the absolute inadequacy of beautiful ideas left to themselves: we need concreteness, to endure and suffer, to feel the seriousness of our situation - especially spiritually - in order to receive a proclamation that does not touch only the mind, but pierces straight to the heart like an arrow. Our life is almost inevitably unsteady, alternating between highs and lows, joys and sorrows, arduous climbs and, every now and then, some exhilarating descent; yet today, precisely as we read this sentence, we are called to prepare the way for the Lord of our life. This path of renewal begins in our soul, but when it is filled with joy, it must overflow into proclamation and witness.

SECOND READING

From the Second Letter of Saint Peter the Apostle (2 Pt 3:8-14)
Do not overlook this one thing, beloved: with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay in fulfilling his promise, as some consider slowness. Rather, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to perish but wants everyone to have the opportunity to repent. The day of the Lord will come like a thief; then the heavens will pass away with a great roar, the elements, consumed by heat, will be dissolved, and the earth, with all its works, will be destroyed. Since all these things are to end in this way, what sort of lives should you lead in holiness and devotion, while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements, set on fire, will melt! But according to his promise, we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, make every effort to be found by him in peace, without spot or blemish. - The word of God.

Commentary on the second reading

In this letter, the apostle Peter states that the Lord “is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to perish but wants everyone to have the opportunity to repent.” He came in the fullness of time, we prepare for his coming at Christmas, and he will come in glory precisely to save every person, because he does not resign himself to losing anyone. It is also said that “the earth, with all its works, will be destroyed,” and thus the difference between the earth and humanity is outlined: by “earth,” Saint Peter means everything that is not eternal. Let us think about the concrete reality of our lives: so many pointless frustrations, races toward success and the latest fashions, regrets over which we torment ourselves without doing anything to overcome them, superficiality, wasted time, and time not spent with the people we love. What remains is the authentic humanity-divinity of every moment that Jesus - God made man - makes possible for us. The burning core of what remains is faith, hope, and charity. Even now, let us show “that we belong to the day, that we are sober, clothed with the breastplate of faith and love, and wearing as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thess 5:8).

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:1-8)
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,” John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People from the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him. They 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, and he fed on locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen the straps of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” - The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”: here is the good news proclaimed by Mark. It is a “beginning” that recalls the creation of the world and at the same time suggests a novelty of such great magnitude that it becomes impossible to measure. It defines itself as a “gospel,” good news, through which the world is no longer the same. Indeed, Jesus, whom the people Mark writes to may have known or heard about from direct witnesses, is truly the Son of God. This will be widely debated, especially at the beginning of the Church, because if the earthly Jesus is absolutely inseparable from Jesus Christ, the Son of God, then all humanity is welcomed - with him and through him - into the bosom of the Father. Living divinely is no longer a temptation suggested by the ill-fated serpent, but the true vocation of every man and woman. It is necessary to “prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight.” Jesus asks each of us personally: “Do you want to welcome me?” Until we have an answer to this question, it will make little sense to bustle about preparing lights and Nativity scenes. A simple “Yes, I want to welcome you” would be enough to see him at work restoring life.