Message from the Pastor Fr. Omar
St. Katharine Drexel
Dear Family:
Today’s liturgy constitutes a vision of optimism and hope that can sing of the Lord’s wonders and recognize His providence at work in everything that happens. Today’s portion of the Book of Baruch was written by an anonymous author around 200 B.C., probably at Alexandria, for the Jews living there who had a problem keeping their faith: The Temple was far away, they were living in a culture which was completely opposed to the heritage of Judaism, and some were finding local prosperity very attractive, to the detriment of their faith. Significantly telling the Jews to “look to the east,” today’s passage personifies Jerusalem as a mother about to receive back her exiled children.
In a broader sense, the passage urges all who are struggling with faith in an alien culture to stand up, to have confidence, to be strong. The mood of the passage is full of celebration. Inasmuch as it directs our attention toward how expectation and anticipation of the Messiah find fulfilment in the birth of the child in Bethlehem, it is good Advent reading. Baruch’s image of flattening the high mountains and filling out the valleys was frequent in the Old Testament times. It derived from the custom of having a herald precede a king when the king was going on a journey, to forewarn the inhabitants of his arrival so they could repair their ill kept roads.
St. Luke begins his narrative of Jesus’ public ministry with John the Baptist, who was straightening out the crooked paths of human hearts and levelling the valleys and hills of people’s selfishness to prepare them for Jesus. The Baptist was also trying to straighten out the paths of the human mind, because, like some modern roads, they continued to follow primitive trails made by calves for their own reasons, but which were no longer valid for people. John’s personality, conviction, and enthusiasm for his message caused people to overlook his odd dress and come to him.
Luke provides a rollcall of who held power at the time. Five of his seven historical figures are secular, two religious. Among the secular figures, all were corrupt, cruel, and provide a great contrast for the righteousness of John the Baptist’s message. The religious leadership links the story of salvation history to events in contemporary Palestinian and world history. Luke reserves the place of honor for the high priests, Annas and Caiaphas.
Luke preserves these names of influential people for posterity because of their influence upon the lives of John and Jesus. The gospel not only encounters the poor, lame, and blind, but also the synagogue rulers, high priests, governors, kings, treasurers, city officials, imperial guards, and finally the emperor himself. Luke is also speaking to the covenant community: “. . . the Word of God came to John.” John’s ministry is the fulfillment of the collective prophetic voice: “Prepare the way for the Lord; clear a straight path for him.” Luke later designates John’s preaching as “the Good News.”
From this background of intrigue and power emerged the solitary figure of John the Baptist, with a message of optimism. He preached in the desert. The ancient Israelites often romanticized the desert: there they wandered as a rebellious people and in later centuries came to idealize the desert as being the time and place , when they were closest to the Lord.
Luke associates the preaching of John with a call from God, thereby identifying him with the prophets whose ministries began with similar calls. In the entire region of the Jordan, John preached repentance, which signifies not regret for the past or the performance of penance, but rather a new outlook on life in keeping with the will of God. This was to be a heightening of the Jews’ response to deliverance from captivity: an attitude of gladness, joy, laughter, song, and — above all — grateful recognition of the God responsible for effecting their deliverance. In the words of today’s Responsorial Psalm, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”
Advent is a time to renew and deepen our relationship with God. It is a time of patiently waiting for God; prayerfully and trustingly waiting for Him. Because the season of Advent is so important the Church gives us four weeks to celebrate it. Celebrate Advent with your heart. It is an opportunity to step back from that which preoccupies and distracts us daily and make straight a way for the Lord, to receive the special grace God has planned for you this Advent.
The most important people in our world are not those who are in positions of power but those who have powerful positions in our personal lives. The gift of John the Baptist to us is that he gave voice to the Word which stands forever. The Eternal Word of God remains with us until the end of time.
May our prayer in this Eucharist and every day of our lives be: “Come, Lord Jesus.” Makes us, therefore, “One Body, One Spirit, One Family.” Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Michael the Archangel, Pope Saint Pius X and Blessed Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, pray for us!
Yours in Christ Jesus!
Fr. Omar