ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thank you for coming to this Mass for the Second Sunday of Advent and our annual Bless the Baby Jesus celebration. It is such a joy to see all of you here —especially the children—with your images of the Baby Jesus that I will bless at the end of Mass today. I am hoping that you will take your blest images of the Baby Jesus back to your homes and place them among the figures in a Nativity scene. The tradition of the Christmas Nativity scene began with St. Francis of Assisi in 1223. Francis realized how the Incarnation of Jesus revealed God’s love for us in a very special way. To make that love more visible to the people of his time, Francis created a manger scene in the town of Greccio, in Italy, using live people and animals. The local people were so moved by this depiction that it quickly became an annual tradition. Soon, this beautiful practice became popular in other nations around the world. Today, the Nativity scene has a prominent place in so many Christian homes. Placing your Baby Jesus figure in a nativity crèche in your home can help the whole family reflect, throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons, on Christ’s wonderful birth in Bethlehem.

In today’s Liturgy, the first reading from the prophet Baruch offers us a foreshadowing of the joy that Jesus brings in His incarnation, in His coming to us at Christmas. The prophet exclaims, “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever” (Bar 5:1). He adds, “God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company” (Bar 5:9). Jesus comes during a silent night; but, truly, His coming is filled with glory, joy, mercy, and justice, prefiguring His public ministry as well as the ministry of the Church. This reading is meant to be a joyful reminder and an invitation to us to cast off any sin in our lives, to live by the light of Jesus’ glory.

Our Psalm response echoes this joyful reminder: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy” (Ps 126:3). The account by the psalmist is ecstatic: “When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing” (Ps 126: 1-2). Advent is meant to be a time of joy, of longing to see the Lord. The word Advent indicates a “coming.” At this time of the year, we remember that God came to us as a newborn babe and comes to us today in the Eucharist. What better way to prepare for God’s coming than to partake with others in the Eucharist at Mass? The Psalm today also says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing” (Ps 126:5). Those who weep and bear heavy crosses in this life will be comforted. Jesus will comfort us and help us carry our burdens in this life, and will bring us to a place of joy and rest in the next life. This is our Christian hope. This is a great reason for our hope and joy at Christmas.

The second reading today is also related to Christian joy. Saint Paul’s letter to the Christians at Philippi is a beautiful expression of the love and affection he felt towards his brothers and sisters in Christ there. As in the other readings today, Paul reminds us of the values inherent in the Christian life and the continual looking forward to Jesus’ coming. He says, “This is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (Phil 1: 9-11). Our task is to allow ourselves to be filled with the love and truth of Christ, showing this love to others so that it spreads like a flame throughout the earth. In this way, we prepare ourselves and the world for Christ’s coming: at Christmas and right now, in the Eucharist of this Mass.

Today’s Gospel reading from Saint Mark offers us a strong and straightforward challenge to “prepare the way of the Lord, [and] make straight his paths” (Lk 3:4). John the Baptist tells us that “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” (Lk 3:5-6). In the ancient world, the roads were often treacherous and in need of repair. Often when there was a battle, one group would destroy bridges or set up obstacles to stop the advance of the enemy. Any time a traveling dignitary was coming through, workers would either have to fix the roads or build new ones so that the visitor with his caravan could make it through safely. The repair of these roads required much manual work, making rough ways smooth, crooked paths straight, even filling in valleys or flattening hills in the road’s path.

In order to prepare for Christ’s coming, we too are to make smooth the crooked paths - not of our roads, but rather, of our hearts. We are to trace a new path not in the desert or wilderness, but in our lives. Doing this requires a true conversion of heart. For us Christians, to prepare a way for the Lord means to examine our lives, to see if the paths we are walking are crooked or straight. We are called to make low the mountains of our pride and our selfishness and to fill in the valleys that come from a superficial prayer life and a shallow way of living our faith. We are challenged to straighten out any crooked paths on which we may have been walking - that is, the paths of sin present in our lives.

Especially during Advent, we are urged to repent and turn to the Lord. If we have avoided reconciliation with God or with other people, now is the time to make straight these paths. If God has not been at the center of our lives and families, now is the time to reform our ways. Advent itself is a gift to us, a time to start anew and look forward to Jesus’ coming.

Such conversion is a choice—to turn away from sin and embrace the Lord. In today’s Gospel, we see the contrast between those who chose well and those who chose poorly. Seven religious and political figures are named in the reading: Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Lysanius, Annas, and Caiaphas. All of them were still living when Jesus was crucified, and some of them were directly involved in the trial that resulted in His death. In contrast, there is John the Baptist, who chose Christ. He chose the Lord, and preached repentance and humility not only with his words but with his very life. He was the “voice of one crying out in the desert,” to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Lk 3:4). Note that he did not say, “I am one crying out in the desert,” but instead said, “I am the VOICE of one crying out in the desert” (Lk 3:4). John is the voice, the spokesman. The one crying out to us is the Lord, the Word; it is Christ himself. Through John, He says, “the rough ways [shall be] made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” This is the gift that Christ brings to us this Christmas: His saving presence in the world. He comes to us to be our Savior.

Dear friends: each day presents to us as Christians a call to conversion—a call to choose Christ and to acknowledge God as the source and giver of all of our blessings. Realizing this truth helps us to share with others what we ourselves have been given by God. I know that a number of you who have brought items for needy children have heeded the call to share generously with our brothers and sisters, and I thank you for this and for all your good works of charity.

May the Holy Family bless all of you during these days of Advent and bring you close to Jesus. And may Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of our Savior, be a model of humility and grace for us all. Amen.