The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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 being 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."
Homily: We have to cooperate with God.
The two prophets in today’s readings—Isaiah and John the Baptist—teach us that it’s not enough for the Lord to do all the work when it comes to our salvation. We have to cooperate with him by making a clean and straight path for him to enter into our lives, and also by helping others to do the same. Even though our sins are like unfortunate detours on our journey to God, the Lord will help us get back on the right path again. This is precisely what the season of Advent helps us to do.
In today’s first reading, Isaiah shows us that we can either help the Lord as he seeks to guide us, or we can hinder his efforts. But never forget this: Whether we like it or not, he is coming! Our salvation history—from the Garden of Eden to the Incarnation of Christ—has been a long, difficult, and twisted road, full of potholes and detours. For thousands of years we were spiritually lost as we desperately tried to regain our friendship with God. Before he came in person, the Lord’s interactions with us were designed to keep us heading in the right direction. Isaiah reminds us today that not only is the Lord’s arrival getting closer and closer, but that he himself will actually help us to get ready for his arrival. With all the imagery of making a straight path, filling in the valleys, and leveling the peaks, the Lord encourages us once again during this Advent season to seek him.
In today’s second reading St. Peter reminds us just how patient the Lord is with us, in spite of our sinfulness, and just how much he wants us to be saved. One day the Lord will appear at an hour we don’t expect, and everything will change, for good or for bad, depending on how we lived our lives. What we need to focus on is the fact that because of the Incarnation, Jesus, "the Word through whom the universe came into being," is now fully human. That means he knows all about our struggles and our weaknesses, because he is like us in all things except sin.
In today’s Gospel John the Baptist tells the people of Israel, and us, to get ready. This simple and direct message fulfills two Old Testament prophecies. First, the prophet Malachi said that the Lord would send someone to prepare his way (see Malachi 3:1). Second, the prophet Isaiah said that this person would encourage his listeners to make straight the way of the Lord (see Isaiah 40:3). John the Baptist accomplished this task through a baptism of repentance. Finally, it would be John the Baptist who would actually baptize the Lord when he came, and he would also be the last prophet of the Old Testament, the one who would immediately announce the arrival of the Messiah and see him face to face.
Every Christian is called to be another John the Baptist, and that’s why the Church always uses the Lord’s cousin as a model for us to imitate during Advent. Today Jesus will come upon this altar here in this church as truly as he came into the manger in Bethlehem. When he does appear on this altar, let’s thank him for fulfilling his promise to lead us and guide us throughout our earthly journey. And let us also promise him that this Advent we will do our very best to fulfill our Advent mission, by following the example of John the Baptist, the last Old Testament prophet, and the first New Testament prophet.