2nd Sunday if Advent Year C   

Luke 3:1-6 9 December 2018

 In the fifteenth year if Tiberius Caesar’s reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.   He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the saying of the prophet Isaiah:  A voice cries in the wilderness; Prepare a way for the Lord, Make his paths straight.  Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, winding ways will be straightened and rough roads make smooth.  6And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.

GUIDELINES TO HELP US TO MEDITATE ON THE PASSAGE SO AS TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE GOD’S PRESENCE AND ACTIVITY IN OUR LIVES AND WORLD TODAY.

           (Prepared by Volunteers from the Lectio Centre project)

1 When Pontius Pilate was Governor… During the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas” –

 Luke’s Gospel reminds us that although there were many powerful men at the time of Christ’s birth “the word of God came to John who was in the “wilderness.” Remember an experience of “wilderness in life” – vulnerability, insecurity, loss – and now, looking back we can say we are stronger, wiser people because of our sojourn in the wilderness. Take a few minutes to meditate on the truth and the hope contained in the words of this passage that we all “shall see the salvation of God.”

2 “Winding ways will be straightened and rough roads made smooth”

Take time to reflect on the journey that some people may be on where the road is rough and the terrain difficult; people on an emotional journey through bereavement or people on a physical journey to safety. Take a few minutes to think what we can to in our lives to lend a helping hand along the way. Let us pray that we will have the generosity of spirit to help make their “rough roads smooth” and their painful journey easier.

3 Remember a “John the Baptist person”

Who by their word and example challenged us to a new way of seeing things, a new way of doing things “preached a baptism of repentance” and it has led to healing, reconciliation, wholeness – “forgiveness of sins.”