Readings

Mark 1 1-8

Isaiah 40 1-5, 9-11

2 Peter 3 8-14

John's brief appearance in Mark's Gospel begins a new era in the history of salvation. Mark's details about John's appearance recall the austere dress of the great prophet Elijah. The Jews believed that Elijah would return from heaven to announce the long-awaited restoration of Israel as God's kingdom. For Mark and the synoptics, this expectation is fulfilled in John the Bapti er. In the Bapti er's proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah, the age of the prophets is fulfilled and the age of the Messiah begins. His baptism with water is an act of hope and expectation in the very Spirit and life of God.

Today's first reading begins the second section of the Book of Isiah, often called the Book of Consolation. The prophet preaches that the long night of exile at the hands of the Babylonians is at an end and the Israelites will soon be able to return to their homeland. It is a time for joy and expectation, of course, but also a time for reali ing the difficult work that lies ahead in rebuilding their nation.

In today's second reading, Peter confronts the notion that somehow Christ's return has been "delayed." The point is not the exact timetable of the Parousia (for our concept of measured time means nothing to God), but that God's "delay" is a gift of grace to allow time for repentance and reconciliation with God. This time of grace marks our identity as an "Advent people." Theme - Our Call To Be 'Prophets' of the Lord. Each one of us is called to be a prophet of Christ. The word prophet comes from the Greek word meaning "one who proclaims." Not all prophets wear camel skns and eat locusts - there are prophets among us right now who proclaim in their ministries, in their compassion and their kindness, in their courageous commitment to what is right that Jesus the Messiah has come.

Theme - ' Making straight the wastelands.' There are so many wastelands and barren places into which we can bring life, so many roads and avenues we can transform into highways through our charity and forgiveness. In giving the needs of others priority over our own interests, in taking the first humbling steps toward reconciliation with another, in seeing in other people the face of Christ, we make a "highway" in our world for the Lord who comes.