As we start the second week
of Advent, the Church turns her attention from the second coming of Christ to
his first coming, and in particular to the figure of John the Baptist, the
forerunner or herald of Jesus Christ.
Usually the Church reads
heavily from the prophet Isaiah during the Advent season, and indeed, Isaiah 40
would have made a good First Reading for this Sunday because it is quoted in
the Gospel. However, in Year C, the
Church takes a little break from exclusive attention to Isaiah and reads some
other Old Testament texts that are also important for understanding the
significance of Christ’s coming.
The readings for this Mass
are heavily marked by what we may call a “New Exodus” theme.
We recall that the people of
Israel became a nation when they were brought out of Egypt under Moses in the
first Exodus. Afterward, under Joshua,
they entered and possessed their land.
Centuries later, however,
they sinned against God, and he permitted them to be conquered and exiled by
the nations of Assyria and Babylon.
During these tumultuous years, Israelites became scattered to the four
corners of the earth.
The great prophets of the Old
Testament predicted that, at some future time, God would repeat the Exodus,
only this time it would not be out of Egypt, but out of all the nations to
which the people of Israel had been scattered.
Scholars call this the “New Exodus” theme in the prophets, and it can be
found in many places (Isa 11:10-16; Jer 23:7-8; Ezek 37:21-22).
Our First Reading for this
Sunday, a selection from the rarely-read Book of Baruch, has a heavy New Exodus
emphasis:
Bar 5:1-9
Jerusalem,
take off your robe of mourning and misery;
put on the splendor of glory from God forever:
wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,
bear on your head the mitre
that displays the glory of the eternal name.
For God will show all the earth your splendor:
you will be named by God forever
the peace of justice, the glory of God's worship.
Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights;
look to the east and see your children
gathered from the east and the west
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you:
but God will bring them back to you
borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones.
For God has commanded
that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
be filled to level ground,
that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.
The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
have overshadowed Israel at God's command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
by the light of his glory,
with his mercy and justice for company.
put on the splendor of glory from God forever:
wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,
bear on your head the mitre
that displays the glory of the eternal name.
For God will show all the earth your splendor:
you will be named by God forever
the peace of justice, the glory of God's worship.
Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights;
look to the east and see your children
gathered from the east and the west
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you:
but God will bring them back to you
borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones.
For God has commanded
that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
be filled to level ground,
that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.
The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
have overshadowed Israel at God's command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
by the light of his glory,
with his mercy and justice for company.
Since this is the only time outside of
the Easter Vigil that the Book of Baruch is proclaimed in Mass, I’d like to
take a moment to make some general remarks about this important Old Testament
book.
The short Book of Baruch is a
collection of four edifying religious compositions associated with the literary
legacy of Jeremiah. While the character
of the different compositions is diverse, they each advance the general
unifying theme that Israel should avoid idolatry and covenant infidelity while
patiently waiting for the fulfillment of God’s good promises after the exile.
Baruch is not accepted as canonical in
Rabbinic Judaism, and is not extant in Hebrew, although it now seems clear that
the entire book, including the Letter of Jeremiah, was originally composed in
Hebrew. Baruch is included in our oldest
and best manuscripts of the Septuagint (e.g. Vaticanus, Alexandrinus), and the
Septuagint Greek became the basis of all other ancient versions.
Long considered a part of the Book of
Jeremiah by the early Fathers, the attestation of the canonical status of
Baruch is among the best of any of the deuterocanonicals. In the Septuagint tradition, we find the
order Jeremiah–Baruch–Lamentations. The
antiquity of this order is supported by the fact that the Septuagint translator
of Jeremiah 26–52 also translated Baruch 1:1–3:8. In the Vulgate, however, Lamentations is
appended without break at the end of Jeremiah, followed by Baruch as a separate
book. St. Jerome did not re-translate
Baruch, but incorporated the Old Latin translation (made from the Greek of the
Septuagint) in the Vulgate.
The liturgy is at the center of
attention in three of the four sections of Baruch. In the first section, we have a liturgical
prayer (1:15–3:8) intended to be recited accompanying the offering of sacrifice
at the altar at the site of the former Temple (1:10-14). In the third section (4:5–5:9), we find
Jerusalem, temple-city and bride, consoled by God with the promise of the
return of her children, who will resume worship within her. In the fourth (the Letter of Jeremiah, 6:1-73),
we have an extensive diatribe against the follies of the false worship offered
to idols. Thus, with the exception of the
poem in praise of wisdom (3:9–4:4), most of the book reflects the reality that
corporate worship is at the heart of the covenant relationship between God and
his people. In fact, the narrative of
Baruch 1:1–3:8 is really driven by the fact that the destruction of the Temple
has disrupted the covenant relationship with God. Worship perpetuates and expresses the
covenant relationship. Worship is the
divine-human communion the covenant was meant to facilitate. Baruch’s efforts to lead a covenant repentance
in the exile (Bar 1:1-9), therefore, naturally lead to the attempt to
perpetuate liturgical worship at the site of the Temple, using whatever vessels
available, even if only the poor quality silver ones of Zedekiah (1:8).
In the passage we read for this Mass, Baruch
speaks about the Israelites returning to Jerusalem along a highway. The phrase about “every lofty mountain be
made low, and … gorges be filled to level ground,” is virtually a quote of
Isaiah 40, and actually derives from ancient highway-building practices. Just as today, when a major road (usually a
royal highway) was built in ancient times, they attempted to level the ground
as much as possible to facilitate ease of travel. When kings or emperors would take trips to
survey their realms, they would at times expend the effort to build (or
re-build) a smooth road specifically for royal entourage. In this reading, the imagery is that the
scattered Israelites are now royalty, and God is having a road built for them
to return home.
Read in conjunction with Luke’s description
of the beginning of the ministry of the Baptist (Luke 3:1-6), Baruch 5:1-9 sets
the Baptist’s mission in the larger context of the prophetic hope for a New
Exodus of Israel to God from the places of her exile. We see that the Exodus and its “highway” are
not so much geographical as spiritual realities. Israel’s true exile is spiritual rather than
physical. The Baptist’s way of
repentance is the true “highway” by which Israel will begin to travel back to
the New Temple, which is Christ himself.
The Responsorial Psalm fits this New
Exodus theme. Psalm 126 was written when
the people of Judah and Jerusalem were released from exile and captivity in
Babylon at the end of the 500’s BC, and were able to return home to Judah to
rebuild their nation and their culture:
Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6.
R.
(3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
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.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
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.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
The return from Babylonian exile in the
late 500’s BC was a partial fulfillment of God’s promises of a New Exodus, but
not complete. Not all the tribes of
Israel came back to their land. No son
of David arose to be their king once more.
Jerusalem still languished in spiritual and economic poverty. Clearly, the prophetic promises awaited a
greater realization.
The Gospel describes how and when God
would fulfill the promises of a New Exodus:
Gospel Lk 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."
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."
St. Luke identifies John the
Baptist as the primary fulfillment of a famous prophecy, Isaiah 40:3-5, in
which an unidentified voice issues a call for a road to be made by which God
will travel, bringing with him his scattered people back to their home.
But apparently, John the
Baptist did not take Isaiah’s prophecy to be a literal command about
road-building, because there is no record in the Gospels of him undertaking
such a project.
The primary problem of the
people of God was not a lack of roads.
The transportation system in the Roman Empire was, in fact, quite good.
Israelites who wished to return to their ancestral land could get there, if
they wanted. However, large groups of
them chose to live elsewhere around the Mediterranean, in places where they had
found a good living. Just as there are
huge communities of Jews in New York and other major cities around the world
outside the land of Israel today, so in ancient times there were huge Jewish
colonies in Alexandria (Egypt), Rome, and in many of the major cities of the
Empire.
So the primary problem of
God’s people was not a lack of roads, or their distance from their ancestral
land. The problem was their sins: their
spiritual estrangement from God. For
this reason, the “road” that John the Baptist offers is repentance, expressed
through water baptism.
The description of the
road-building lends itself to a spiritual interpretation, one that has a basis
in the New Testament itself, in texts like the Magnificat and the Sermon on the
Mount.
“Every valley shall be
filled” refers to hope, encouragement, and new life being granted to the poor,
the oppressed, the lowly—people who feel they have been forgotten by God or are
not worthy of God’s attention.
“Every hill made low,” refers
to the humbling of the proud, the repentance that the strong and arrogant must
undergo in order to receive God’s salvation.
The “winding roads” and
“rough places” refer to the twists and turns of the human heart, contorted by
sin (Jer 17:9). The human heart needs to
be “simplified” or “straightened” by honest and truthful confession of sin.
The classic hymn, “On
Jordan’s Banks,” actually provides a fairly adequate spiritual exegesis of
today’s Gospel in its second verse:
Then cleansed be every breast from
sin;
make straight the way for God within,
prepare we in our hearts a home
where such a mighty Guest may come.
make straight the way for God within,
prepare we in our hearts a home
where such a mighty Guest may come.
This is what
the Church is calling us to do in this preparatory season of Advent. Those of us who feel lowly and downtrodden by
life need to exercise some faith and hope, lift up our heads, remember that
this life is temporary, and look to Jesus.
Those of us who think we have it all together need to exercise some
humility and do an examination of conscience.
But most of all, we need to straighten out our interior
crookedness. So in this second week of
Advent, it would be highly appropriate to take the time right now to schedule a
date for Confession this week. This is
the sacrament where we speak the simple truth, the twisted becomes straight,
and the rough smooth.
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