A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 4, n. 2)
Second Sunday of Advent, Year B – December 4, 2005
“Prepare the Way of the Lord!”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 40:1-5, 9-11 // 2 Pt 3:8-14 // Mk 1:1-8
N.B. This new series of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY presents a biblico-liturgical study of the Old Testament reading of each Sunday Mass to serve as a background for a better understanding of the Gospel proclaimed in the liturgy. For a biblico-liturgical study of the Gospel for each Sunday, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
The Gospel reading (Mk 1:1-8) of the second Sunday of Advent delineates the role of John the Baptist as the precursor of Christ. His ministry in the wilderness of Judea was to prepare the way and point to Jesus, the Christ. The prophetic witnessing that he rendered on behalf of the messianic Christ, the true Way, takes on a deeper hue when seen against the backdrop of the Old Testament reading (Is 40:1-5, 9-11). Susan Myers comments: “Just as the herald in the first reading told of preparing a wide and level path through the desert for the sovereign God’s passage, so also John here prepares the path of the Lord … The theme of preparation is apt for this season. Just as the road must be leveled and cleared of stones before the monarch arrives with great fanfare, so too our hearts must be cleared in order to embrace the ruler of our lives.”
The first reading of this Sunday’s Advent liturgy is a beautiful prophetic message of hope and consolation. It was taken from a section of the book of Isaiah (chapters 40-55), called the Second Isaiah or Deutero-Isaiah. Also known as the Book of Consolation, it was written by an unknown author approximately 150 years after the first 39 chapters, which carry the message of the historical prophet Isaiah himself. The Book of Consolation was composed when the Exile in Babylon was about to end and the people of Israel would be allowed by King Darius of Persia to return to their beloved Jerusalem. To capture the joy and excitement of the moment, the Second Isaiah writer tried to rekindle the vision and to relive the ecstatic experience of the first Exodus.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 1, remark: “The prophecy was pronounced when the people of the promise no longer had a country, or temple, or political power. Nevertheless, the prophet sees the return of the exiles and their gathering before the Lord in glory. He sees the great return as a new and marvelous Exodus. No more wearisome wandering in a hostile desert; rather, there is a triumphal procession. No longer is it the cloud that guides the people, but the Lord himself, like a shepherd shepherding his flock. In his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.”
The Second Isaiah writer speaks of “Jerusalem, herald of glad tidings” (Is 40:9) Jerusalem here does not refer to a place, which at that time was actually in shambles, but to the chosen people in Exile. Having been purified in the crucible of suffering as a captive nation in Babylon, the “Jerusalem, herald of glad tidings” refers to the people of Israel, who were being invigorated and enjoined to prepare the way of the Lord and tread it with converted and renewed hearts. The author of the Book of Consolation has introduced us to one of the richest expressions of the Bible: “the way of the Lord” (Is 40:3). The “way” is a manner of life for the people of Israel. The prophetic ministry of John the Baptist was to announce “the way of the Lord”. Jesus declared himself to be “the Way”, and Christian disciples are therefore those who follow “the Way”. “To prepare the way of the Lord” entails total conversion and utmost receptivity to the redeeming presence of the compassionate God. It involves an intimate and loving relationship with him that would lead us to tread joyfully on the paths of justice, goodness and love.
In this Advent season, we are being called to prepare the way of the Lord and to make straight his paths. If we are willing walk on the path of righteousness, then a new Exodus experience will come to us. The Mosaic days of covenant, protection and triumph will be actualized in the contemporary moment and the purifying process of sorrow will be completed. Indeed, anyone who is willing to respond totally and devotedly to the prophetic cry, “Prepare the way of the Lord” will experience a display of divine glory and feel the advent of the consoling God who is both a powerful ruler and a gentle shepherd, gathering the lambs and holding them closely to himself.
PERSONAL REFLECTION
By Novice Elma of the PDDM congregation
William Simpson has always been someone who likes to explore out of the way places, having lived and worked on three continents and traveled through four. He arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in late July 1998 to work as a marketing consultant for that country’s Industrial Development Fund. With a PhD in biochemistry, an MBA and experience in the pharmaceutical industry, he has been contracted to assess the potential viability of pharmaceutical and other chemical manufacturers in the Saudi kingdom.
For Westerners, life in Saudi Arabia can be extremely comfortable. The majority live in large, walled compounds with air-conditioned housing, sports facilities and pools. He could have afforded to live in one of the housing compounds, but he chose to rent a house in northern Riyadh.
As it turned out, it was just a few kilometers from the prison where, two years later, he would be interrogated and tortured. He was accused if setting off three car bombs.
He has been given clemency, but was not pardoned. He is still considered a convicted murderer. What he now sees as achievement has been markedly changed. He looks at the desperate manner in which people try to climb on top of one another and realize what a waste it is. He has no wish to move back to that way of life.
John’s urgent warning: prepare for the Lord’s coming at Christmas, but prepare also for his return on the last day. “Let not our preoccupation with the present task hinder us from going to meet your Son, but give us an understanding heart that will prepare us to welcome him and enter into his life” (Opening Prayer). Preparing for the Lord’s coming is preparing a new world, new earth. Conversion is a turning to God, leaving everything else and advancing toward God.
According to his promise, we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (Second Reading). Each of us, however, must do his part and make continual progress in true understanding and in that clarity of mind that enables us “to approve what is excellent”. At a time when the world is being renewed, and one civilization is coming to an end and another, it seems, is beginning, we are well aware that it is no simple matter to discern what is really important as we live our lives. And yet it is absolutely necessary that we advance upright and without stumbling toward the Day of Christ.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
A. The prophetic mission of John the Baptist in the wilderness was “to prepare the path of the Lord” and to point to Jesus. The author of Deutero-Isaiah speaks of a heavenly voice that cries out, “In the desert prepare the way of the Lord”. What am I doing in this Advent season “to prepare the path of the Lord”?
B. Have I allowed myself to be purified in the crucible of trials and sufferings? Have embraced the mission to be “herald of good news” in the time and space where I work and live?
C. What is the progress of my exodus through the wilderness and challenges of daily life? In my spiritual journey, do I allow myself to be led by Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, just as the people of Israel were led through the desert by the cloud of God’s loving presence on their way to the Promised Land?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his path.” (Is 40:3 // Mk 1:3)
Assembly: Loving Father,
may nothing hinder us from receiving Christ with joy
for he is our true and living Way.
Open our hearts
that we may prepare a welcoming path for him in our hearts.
May we allow ourselves to be led by him
on the ways of eternal life
for he is the Good Shepherd who feeds his flock
and tenderly gathers the lambs and carries them in his bosom.
You live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!” (Is 40:3)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
A. ACTION PLAN: Pray that in this Advent season we may truly open ourselves to the compassionate and loving Lord Jesus who comes to save us. Endeavor to prepare the path of the Lord by carrying out concrete works of charity to the needy in your community. Fasting in this season of Advent in view of helping the poor is highly recommended.
ACTION PLAN: To celebrate the gift of the liturgical year in a spirit of receptivity to God’s grace and in order to give homage to Jesus Christ, the redeeming Lord who came, who comes and will come gloriously at the end-time, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 2, n. 2): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US