GOSPEL POWER - DECEMBER 6, 2020 - 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Gospel: Mk 1:1-8 

 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;  the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”  John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.  I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

REFLECTION

T he first scene of Mark’s Gospel unfolds in the desert, suggesting that this is to be the place of restoration… of a new act of creation. Significantly, Mark’s opening line says, “the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” thus echoing the first words of the Genesis creation story—“in the beginning...” The pathway of renewal for sinful humanity is the desert. This is symbolically portrayed in the first reading which speaks of the returning exiles from Babylon, who had no other way of reaching Jerusalem and their homeland except by crossing the desert. In the barrenness of the desert, stripped of all worldly trappings, the human heart will be led to discover that God alone suffices. Our sure guide as we traverse the desolate and dangerous deserts of our lives is John the Baptist, the prophet whose home is the desert.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, help us to overcome our hesitations and dread of stepping into the desert and experiencing the unknown ways of the Almighty. Amen.