Sunday Mass Gospel
Reflection
A Reading
from the holy Gospel
according to
Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate
was governor of Judea, and Herod was
tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother
Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea
and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was
tetrarch of Abilene, during the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the
word of God came to John the son of
Zechariah in the desert. John went
throughout the whole region of the
Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words
of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one
crying out in the desert: “Prepare the
way of the Lord, make straight his
paths. Every valley shall be filled and
every mountain and hill shall be made
low. The winding roads shall be made
straight, and the rough ways made
smooth, and all flesh shall see the
salvation of God.”
December 05, 2021
Apart from presenting Jesus as both human and
divine, the author of the Gospel of Luke also depicts him as a
historical figure. That is why, in today's Gospel, Luke
painstakingly places John the Baptist's teaching and Jesus'
baptism, giving us a time and location as we are told of the
Emperor, Governor, rulers of Palestine, and High Priests.
Luke discusses the phenomena of John the Baptist
and his protracted preaching using a long citation from the
prophet Isaiah after establishing the time period in which
Jesus would begin His ministry. Because Isaiah was regarded
as a prominent Old Testament prophet, ascribing these
statements to John the Baptist and later Jesus Christ confers
on them the authority of Old Testament continuity.
John the Baptist is introduced in the second week of
Advent for a reason: he is known as "the Advent preacher."
His message is clear: just as he prepared Israel for the
Messiah's arrival, he reminds us now of the importance of
"preparation" as we approach Christmas. The
"preparedness" to which we are called is not only the
"preparedness" of our outer house – the inner sanctuary
where God resides in us – but also the "preparedness" of our
inner home – the inner sanctuary where God resides in us.
Advent encourages us to look forward to the arrival of
the Lord's reign. Until then, Advent encourages us to deepen
our prayer lives, to think more deeply about who this
historical Jesus is, what he said, and how he lived, so that we
are genuinely prepared to celebrate the Lord's birth.