Make Straight The Paths Of The Lord

10-12-2017 SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B)

SCRIPTURAL READING:

1. Is. 40:1-5.9-11.

Ps 85:9ab and 10.11-12.13-14 (R.8).

1. 2 2 Peter 3:8-14; Accl; Lk. 3:4.6.
2. Gospel Mk 1:1-8.

Dear friends please repeat these words after me;

Thank you Jesus for your word which I will receive at this hour,

Please Lord, make my heart a fertile soil for the reception of your word today

Holy Spirit, rekindle in me the fire of your love and may God’s word bear fruit in my life. Amen.

TOPIC: MAKE STRAIGHT THE PATHS OF THE LORD.

The voice that cries in the wilderness, who does this voice cry out to? And who is that same voice crying out to today? In the first degree, the voice in the time of John the Baptist, re-echoed the cry of the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:1-11: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” It refers to the Jews who had returned from exile while comforting them, he exhorts them to prepare themselves for the coming the messiah. In the second degree, that same voice cries out from our pulpits today asking us who have been redeemed by the blood of this promised messiah to prepare the way of the Lord. This voice is not asking us to level the physical rocky grounds, valleys and mountains? Sure they will always be there! The voice tells us amidst these discomforting situations we face on a daily basis to prepare our hearts so well so that it becomes the dwelling place of the most high. A place where we can communicate with him and from there he also becomes able to direct us how to overcome our troubles. From there he comforts us even in the midst of challenging situations.

Historically, Isaiah 40:1-55:13 make up the second part of the book of Isaiah, also known as “Second Isaiah” or “Deutero-Isaiah.” Almost everything here refers to a period of history one or two centuries later than that of “First Isaiah.” The oppressor is no longer Assyria or Babylon, which conquered Jerusalem in 587-586BC, and then began a series of deportations that sent the upper Classes of Jerusalem (the priests and the wealthiest people of the Jewish nation) and Judah into exile. Many years later (539BC), Cyrus, king or the Persians, conquered the Babylonians and issued a decree allowing those deportees who so wished to return home. These events are echoed in Second Isaiah’s oracles, songs, lamentations and denunciations, and the prophetic visions of the final, enduring deliverance and restoration of the chosen people and the city of Zion.

The various literary units in this part of the book of the second Isaiah are grouped into two sections more or less by subject. The first (40:1-48:22) implies that the Jews are still held against their will in Babylon. Their deliverance is announced, thanks to the power of the Lord, who rules the world and determines the course of human affairs; he has chosen Cyrus, king of Persia, called here his “anointed,” his messiah, to redeem Israel from exile (Is. 44:24-45:25).

This section, too, contains the announcement that God will choose a “servant”, whom he will send empowered by the Spirit to establish law and justice (42:1-9, the first “song of the servant.”)

The second section celebrates the glorious restoration of the people of God on Zion; in this, too, the “servant of the Lord” will play the key role; the section contains the last three songs of the servant (Isaiah 49:1-6, 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12).

When we examine Isaiah 40:1-48:22, we discover that the historical background to these chapters is the time immediately after the return of the exiles from Babylon, which is depicted as a “new exodus.” The exodus from Egypt was the prototype of all God’s interventions on his people’s behalf: now we hear of another one “new” because the power with which God, the creator of all things, acts now surpasses that to be seen in the Exodus.

The news that deliverance is at hand greatly consoles the people: we are told this at the start, and it is repeated in the oracles that follow. For this reason, this part of the book of Isaiah is usually called the “Book of Consolation,” and it has been interpreted as an anticipation of the consolation, balm and release from all human ills is the incarnation of our God and saviour.

The section opens with a song of joy over the imminent release of the exiles (Is 40:1-11). After this a number of oracles are grouped together which describe the reason why the people should hope in the Lord, who is mighty and desires to save, who is ready to do so (Is 42:1-25), to manifest himself as the Redeemer of Israel (43:1-44:23), and bring salvation to Jerusalem (44;24-48:19). The section ends with a prophecy of the redemption of his people and a call to leave Babylon (48:20-22).

The first reading taken from Isaiah 40:1-11 tells that this section begins on a formal note with an anonymous voice proclaiming the Lord’s consolation. The same voice calls on the prophet himself to proclaim that the word of God and his message of salvation will endure forever.

The oracles are addressed to those people of Jerusalem who have been deported to Babylon. When they were first spoken, many decades has passed since these people and the previous generation were forced to leave the holy city. Those years of suffering and exile have more than atoned for their sins. The time comes for them, with the Lord’s help, to set out on the return journey. That journey is mentioned throughout this section.

The voice speaking in the name of the Lord boosts their morale: it won’t be a difficult journey; they will find a way opened up for them which will bring them to the glory of the Lord. As in the exodus from Egypt, on the “way” from Babylon to Jerusalem they will see wonderful evidence of the power of God.

The words spoken by the mysterious voice, inviting them to set out fills the returnees with hope. The four Gospels see these words fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist, who is the voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” And indeed, John, with his call to personal conversion and his baptism of repentance, does prepare the way for people to find Jesus, whom the Gospels confess to be “the Lord.”

John the Baptist is his herald, the “precursor”: “The voice commands that a way be opened for the word of God, the path smoothed and all obstacles removed: when God comes, he will be able to walk without hindrance. Prepare the way of the Lord: this means to preach the gospel and to offer consolation to his people, with the desire that the salvation of God embrace all mankind.” John Baptist is more than a prophet (Lk 7:26). In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking through the prophets. John Completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah. He proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel; he is the “voice” of the consoler who is coming. John 1:23; Is 40:1-3.

Dear friends, how can we prepare a way for the Lord and make straight his paths in today’s world that is filled with so much distractions, wickedness, lies, manipulations, hatred, deception, injustice, violence, dehumanization? Of course we cannot make a straight path for the Lord carnally or by responding carnally. We must be men and women of prayers. We are not to say prayers but to really prayer.

To pray is to live with God. When we pray everything God possesses we will possess and men and women will attest to that fact. Prayer makes our soul one with God. When we pray, we get connected to God and prayer is the enemy of self-centeredness. When we truly pray, it helps us rise above contemporary thoughts to be selfish, the tendency to be rich at the expense of others, to become self-sustaining. When we pray, God’s concerns become our business. We cannot be praying and at the same time mind our own business. Julian of Norwich says, prayer connects the soul to God. It enables me to eliminate every obstacle from preparing a way for the Lord.

When I do not pray, what concerns God does not become my concern. When I have become very affluent, very successful, when I have attained the heights I want it is very easy for me to forget the lord and not have time to pray; it then becomes very easy for me to be choked with so many things that Crip into my heart and become obstacles preventing me from preparing a way for the Lord to come and dwell with me. How will he come when I have not kept a place for him even when I keep inviting him? If he decides to come where will he stay? Have I kept a place for him.

So child of God, this Christmas, one question I must ask myself is what place am I prepared to keep for the Lord? Prayer enables me to see myself been called to be responsible. One cannot be a Christian and not be responsible. Prayer invites me to be more responsible as a Christian. My prayer should not cut me off from the world rather it must lead me to change my world around me with the power of the lord.

God does not work alone. He works with us. Prayer enables me to be a true steward. Prayer enables me to be fruitful and multiply its energies. Prayer enables me to be prompt, diligent to the mission entrusted to me. Prayer enables me to complete what Christ didn’t complete.

So this Christmas is not about the rice, the clothes, the places to visit, it’s about how responsible will I be to make his paths straights in terms of reaching out to my brothers and sisters who are dare need.

We must examine the fruits of our prayers in the following areas:

1. Have I become more understanding of my brothers and sisters who tend to disagree with me on several grounds?
2. Have I become more charitable than I used to be? Can I still do more for the glory and honour of God?
3. Have I become open or competitive or collaborative in the vineyard of the Lord?

Dear friends, when I pray well, I will become very open to the inner working of my being for prayer renews me interiorly so as to see things differently. If I pray, I will be able to see the world as God sees it and become able to remove obstacles preventing me from preparing a way for the lord and making his paths straight.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me to be connected with you through prayer. When I pray may I become able to reach you and with your hands guiding me, and your power moving in me may I become more than able to reach out to my brothers and sisters who are in need in the name of Jesus. Amen.