The Sunday Gospel [Second Sunday of Advent - December 9, 2012]
Luke 3:1-6
1In 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, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. 3He went throughout [the] whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4as 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. 5Every 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, 6and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
Reflection
Let us see how today’s Gospel gives us a great sense of hope.
When Jesus was born, the world was a mess. The Romans controlled the world, but as we know, they did not have a true image of God. Rather, they were in love with power. Palestine was also in a bad way. After the death of Herod the Great, the Romans divided the country into four sections in order to make it weak and dependent. And so there were four different rulers there: Pilate, Herod, Philip, and Lysanias. The Jewish church was no better, its leaders ruling through power and ambition.
In the midst of this, we read Isaiah’s prophecy. “A voice cries in the desert: ‘Prepare a way for the Lord … the winding ways shall be straightened and rough roads made smooth, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:4-6)
Now from a human point of view, these words seem unbelievable. How could anyone in his or her right mind believe that “all mankind shall see the salvation of God”? But if we look at Isaiah’s words from a supernatural point of view, we come to a different conclusion: God loves the world. He sees what a mess it is in and He takes pity in it. Not only that, to prove His love, He sends His only Son Jesus, to be a model for us of goodness and love.
In the Letter to the Romans, Paul writes these very encouraging words:”Since God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that He will not refuse anything He can give” (8:32). God will not refuse anything He can give. When we look around at what is happening in society, we see many problems. But then we realize that God did miraculous things when Jesus was born. He made a virgin who never knew a man to conceive. He raised Jesus from death. And through the example of Jesus and his countless followers God brought about – and is still bringing about – tremendous changes in the world.
God can do anything because of His divine nature. And because of His love for us, He always seeks for ways by which He can help us. May our awareness of this love fill our heart with hope and joy and peace.
Reflection Credits: Fr. John Seland, SVD, New Reflections on the Sunday Gospels
Source: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarroabel.blogspot.com/).
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