Luke 3:1-6

Baruch 5:1-9

Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11

Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, 

when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, 

and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,

and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region

of Ituraea and Trachonitis, 

and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 

during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, 

the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.

John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, 

proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 

as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

    A voice of one crying out in the desert:

    “Prepare the way of the Lord,

        make straight his paths.

    Every valley shall be filled

        and every mountain and hill shall be made low.

    The winding roads shall be made straight,

        and the rough ways made smooth,

    and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have sent your Son as my Savior and the Savior of the entire world. I am thankful for the gift of your salvation. Let me hear the voice of John the Baptist anew and respond generously to his call to repent and encounter you in the desert.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Voice in the Desert: The story of Jesus, as told by Luke, is a story embedded in the history of the world. Jesus’ story is not a fairy tale. It is real. It happened. Luke establishes the historicity of Jesus by calling attention to the rulers of the world at the time, both kings and priests. This is a subtle invitation to the reader to see and draw out contrasts between the civil authorities (the emperor, the governor, and the tetrarchs) and the royal authority of Jesus and between the corrupt high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas and the true high priesthood of Jesus. Luke speaks first of Tiberius Caesar, who reigned from A.D. 14-37. His 15^th year corresponds to the autumn of A.D. 28 to the summer of A.D. 29. This was when the Word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert. John is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s ancient prophecy. John is the voice crying out in the desert, inviting the people of Israel to prepare for the coming of the Lord and the day of salvation. How am I preparing for the coming of the Lord this Advent?

2. Baruch’s Exhortation to the Exiles: The First Reading is taken from Baruch 5:1-9. It is a passage that borrows heavily from the prophet Isaiah. Today’s Gospel quotes Isaiah 40, as does the passage from Baruch. Baruch was the secretary of the prophet Jeremiah. The Book of Baruch is a collection of smaller writings joined together. Today, we read from the end of the third part of the book (Baruch 4:5-5:9). Baruch has already explained that the Babylonian Exile was a way of God disciplining his sinful people (Baruch 4:5-20) and announced that God would deliver his people from the Babylonian Captivity (Baruch 4:21-29). In today’s First Reading, we hear Baruch encourage Jerusalem that her children will return home (Baruch 4:30-5:9). “Like the prophet [Isaiah], Baruch invites Jerusalem to put on beautiful attire (Isaiah 52:1), a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) and a diadem of glory (Isaiah 28:5), and to arise Isaiah 51:17) and stand upon the heights (Isaiah 40:9) in order to watch its children carried home (Isaiah 49:22) from west and east (Isaiah 43:5). At that time, every mountain will be leveled, every valley will be filled in (Isaiah 40:4-5), and Israel’s path will be shaded by every sweet-smelling tree (Isaiah 41:19). The poetry underscores the abundance of God’s goodness to the exiles” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Baruch, 146). Read together with today’s Gospel, the First Reading points to the end of the exile and the beginning of the New Exodus led by Jesus. Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist, meets the people in the wilderness to prepare them for the day of salvation that God will bring through his Son.

3. The Day of Christ Jesus: In the Second Reading, from the Letter to the Philippians, Paul refers to the “Day of Christ Jesus.” This was a way of referring to the Second Coming (Advent) of Jesus. It echoes the way the prophets used the phrase “the Day of the Lord” to refer to a coming day of judgment on a city or people. Paul exhorts the Philippians to be prepared for the final judgment that will take place at Jesus’ Second Coming. While we tend to think of Advent as a season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas and a time to remember Jesus’ first coming (advent) in the flesh, the opening weeks of Advent are an invitation to contemplate and prepare for Jesus’ Second Coming in glory. If we are filled with faith, hope, and charity, we will have no reason to fear the final judgment. Paul, for example, is confident that God will bring the good work that God began in us to completion. Paul prays that the Philippians will grow in love, purity, and righteousness. God initiated the life of grace within us at Baptism and is the one who, with our humble collaboration, makes it grow and flourish in good works that lead to eternal glory.

Conversing with Christ: Come, Lord Jesus! Save your people. Teach me the holy way through the desert of this life that leads to eternal life. Bring the good work that you began in me to completion.

Living the Word of God: How do I receive John the Baptist’s call to repentance each year? Does it fall on deaf ears? When does my parish offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Advent? Do I plan on going? When I look over the past year, what habitual sins call for repentance, and what good works call for thanksgiving?