This second Sunday of Advent, I see three distinct themes in our readings: Comfort, Preparation of the ‘Way’, and the promise of something better as we walk into the future.
God asks through the prophet Isaiah that we give comfort to God’s people. Later we are told to speak tenderly to God’s people as we listen to the voice that cries out in the desert: a voice that lifts its song in lament but hope.
In Psalm 85 we are invited to walk along the path, preparing the way for the coming of the Lord, and experiencing what realities lie on the way. We are called to journey and to discover truth, kindness, justice, and peace.
And finally, in Mark’s gospel, we are entrusted with making the path, the way for God, straight. A path leading to a new heaven and a new earth; one free of injustice, violence, injury and falsehood.
Like never before, the gospel speaks to us of our role in preparing the way for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us. We need to speak out in truth and justice to those who would receive the Lord. We need to renew our baptismal promises to work always for a better world where everyone is welcomed, and all are recognised as God’s people.
Fr. Henry