Second Sunday of Advent

THE VOICE OF ADVENT

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah speak of Israel and Jerusalem as relatively prosperous, self-confident and material-minded.  But this new author speaks from a new place – the people once so confident are now exiled, discouraged, dazed, and in need of consolation.  They do not need to be punished or tried any further – they need to be sustained.

And so today that is what we hear in the first chapter of an exiled Isaiah – chapter 40 – which reads like an overture to an entire discourse.

Isaiah reminds us today that there is a way out of the wilderness.  We all feel like exiles in this world; we all feel lost; we all feel like we are not where we are supposed to be.  But this is not a story about being lost – this is a story about the long way home.

There is value in our wandering, for it is purifying, but we must not wander for too long for what we have learned is to be shared – shouted from upon the mountain-tops.

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Second Sunday of Advent: (Isaiah 40:1-5;9-11 Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8)

DOWNLOAD AUDIO: HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (10 min)

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