2nd Sunday of Advent

1st Reading: Isaiah 40: 1 - 5, 9 - 11

1 "Console my people, console them" says your God.

2 "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that her time of service is ended, that her sin is atoned for, that she has received from the hand of the Lord double punishment for all her crimes."

3 A voice cries, "Prepare in the wilderness a way for the Lord. Make a straight highway for our God across the desert,

4 Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, let every cliff become a plain, and the ridge a valley;

5 then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all mankind shall see it; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

9 Go up a high mountain, joyful messenger to Zion. Shout with a loud voice joyful messenger to Jerusalem. Shout without fear, say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God.'

10 Here is the Lord coming with power, his arms subduing all things to him. The prize of his victory is with him, His trophies all go before him.

11 He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes.

Meditation

•  The first readings for the next two Sundays consist of prophecies, appropriately for Advent since prophecy is always a word of hope

•  We are invited to meditate on the message but also on the person of the prophet, the messenger of hope, exemplified in Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jesus himself and the prophetic people we have known.

•  Today's passage comprises the opening sections of the second section of Isaiah, called Deutero-Isaiah (40: 1 - 55:13).

•  It is very different in mood from Trito-Isaiah, having been written towards the end of the exile; Cyrus had emerged as the new king of Persia and would soon be God's chosen instrument in bringing his people back to their own land.

•  It was a time of great expectations, therefore - an Advent time, which we can always identify with since the vocation of the prophet is to proclaim that every time can be Advent.

•  Christian hope is the ability to experience (and help one another experience0 our situation, personal or community, as a time of great expectations.

•  Deutero-Isaiah was a great poet and his book (as can be seen in today's reading) is one of the most beautiful in the entire bible. Entering into the imagery will help us pray from the heart.

•  The passage is written in three stanzas.

•  Verse 1 - 2. The scene is heaven. God holds council and decrees that the time of suffering for his people - "Jerusalem" - has come to an end.

The "heart" in the bible refers to the whole self, reason, emotions and body. "Speak to the heart" means then that God's messengers must convince the people totally. The "time of service" is a military metaphor. It means the time when the people were under the heavy discipline of army life

•  Verse 3 - 5. The focus shifts to the Lord's human instrument - the prophetic 'voice'. The word is deliberately vague so that it can be interpreted of human prophets or of the Holy Spirit speaking within them. In either interpretation the passage reminds prophets that they are merely God's instruments. True prophets are deeply humble - like John the Baptist who applied this passage to himself (John 1 : 23)

Verse 4 is often mis-interpreted. It is not a call to the people to get busy: their hope is not in their activity but in God alone. God's decree is being proclaimed, the people wait in trust. The "glory of the Lord must be interpreted in the biblical sense of God's power to save his lowly people.

Deutero - Isaiah is the most universal of the books of the bible - and therefore very appropriate for our time. This is seen in the dramatic promise of verse 5: the glory of God will be revealed to "all flesh". We invite the whole of humanity to share in our Advent hope.

•  Verse 9 - 11 tell of the "missionary vocation" understood as the common call to all believers. Whatever our way of life, by virtue of our baptism we are called to be signs of hope to one another, to make God' s tender love present in the world.

Prayer 

Lord we pray that your church will be a community of hope in the world. Many of our contemporaries are crushed by feelings of despair,

•  personal failures as spouses, parents or community leaders;

•  inherited addictions or psychological weaknesses;

•  age-old racial, ethnic or religious prejudices.

They think they are destined to be forever in bondage to the past and will never be able to make a new start.

We pray that within our various vocations in our homes, neighbourhoods and workplaces, we will console your people, speak to their broken hearts and call to them that their time of bondage is ended, whatever faults they were guilty of are now atoned for, and if they committed crimes, they have received double punishment from your hand.

We pray that we will be your voice telling them that even in their great wilderness they can prepare a way for your coming, make a straight highway for you across the desert,

The valleys which now seem so deep will be filled, the mountains and hills which seem unsurmountable will be laid low,

Every steep cliff will become a plain, every terrifying ridge a lush green valley, your glory will be revealed, and all humanity will see it, for your mouth has spoken.

We pray that your church will go up on a high mountain as a joyful messenger to Zion to shout with a loud voice and without fear, saying to towns that they must not despair because you are here, you are coming with the power of your grace, your arm will subdue all things to you, the prize of your victory is with you and all your trophies go before you.

They feel abandoned, are hungry to be treated with respect, but you are coming to them like a shepherd feeding your flock, gathering your lambs in your arms, holding them against your breast, and leading the mother ewes to their rest.