• In the 2nd Reading, St. Paul exhorts us to “Rejoice always”. He then goes on to give several directives. How are each of these directives related to or a result of a Christian spirit of joy?

EXPLANATION: For a description of Isaiah and his disciples see, 1st Sunday of Advent. These words of encouragement and promise which we read in today's Reading, were uttered by one of Isaiah's disciples, to the exiles in Babylon. As they are very similar in language and thought to the "songs of the Suffering Servant" found in the second-Isaiah (40-55), some authors hold that they form part of the same theme. This may not be correct, but if the consoler and liberator is not the Messiah himself, he is surely a type of the Messiah. His words of consolation and promise are addressed in the first place to the exiles, but they were fully and truly realized only when Christ the ,Messiah came. Christ applied the first two verses of this text to himself when he first preached in the synagogue of Nazareth (Lk. 4: 18-19).
Spirit . . . me: The power of God is necessary for any great work of redemption (see Jgs. 3 : 10; 11 : 19. 1 Sm. 10 : 5-13). It is promised to the messianic king (Is. 11 : 1-2) and to the Suffering Servant (who is the Messiah––-Is. 42: 1). Here it is promised to the Messiah's representative among the Exiles, because he is the type or symbol of the true Messiah who will receive the Spirit in all his fullness (Lk. 4: 18-19).
anointed me: He is strengthened internally and is enlightened to know God's revelation and keep it faithfully, while announcing it to others.
good tidings: He is commissioned to bring the good news of their liberation to the prisoners.
year of...favor: This signifies a year of jubilee, as prescribed in Lv. 25 : 8. This jubilee year was to be held every 49th year. On its arrival all slaves were set free, loans and mortgages ceased to be binding. The Chosen People and all their property belonged to Yahweh and were returned to him in the jubilee year. The year of liberation from Babylon was such a year, but much more so was the day, or year, of the messianic liberation.
vengeance of our God: That is, the day when God will punish the enemies of his people.
greatly...Lord: Jerusalem, realizing the magnanimous liberation that God has brought her, feels that she is once more the bride of Yahweh, dressed in her nuptial robes, while he is decked with the bridegroom's garland. These images represent the reality: the new Jerusalem will be dressed in the "garment of salvation" and in "the robe of righteousness." The new liberated kingdom will be one of sanctity and true fidelity to God. It had its true fulfillment in the messianic liberation (see Revelation 19 : 7-9).
to spring...nations: God gives his word. As surely as the earth brings forth its fruit, so will God fill the new Jerusalem (described in 60: 1-22) with righteousness and praise, namely, with virtues that will make the nations take notice. This was fulfilled not on the return from Babylon, but when the Messiah established his kingdom on earth, when all nations not only took notice, but took him as their king and leader.

APPLICATION: Whether or not the prophet who spoke these words to his fellow-captives in Babylon foresaw their fuller meaning, their real fulfillment in the future messianic liberation, matters not to us. We have the testimony of our Lord, who applies these very words to himself. After reading 60: 1-2 of Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth he says: "Today this scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing." It was he who was to bring the good tidings to the afflicted, to bind up the broken-hearted, to free the captives, and to proclaim the great year of jubilee, God's liberation of all mankind.

The exile and imprisonment of the Jews in Babylon (587-538) was but an image, a shadow, of the universal exile and self-imprisonment which the human race, through sin, had imposed on itself. Man not only disobeyed God, but forgot him completely. He made his own gods of wood, metal or stone. In these he foolishly put his trust. But they were even more helpless than man himself. In those days before Christ, life for man on earth was harder and more sorrowful than it is for the majority today. Man had nothing to look forward to but the grave. The few who had freedom and riches could enjoy them, but only for all too short a time. For them the thought of death (a thought they could hardly put aside) had more misery in it than for the slave who had nothing to leave behind him.

The Chosen People alone had a knowledge of the true God. They knew he created them. They knew they owed him honor and obedience. They were told to look forward to the day when God's representative, his Messiah, would come and make them (and all nations) members of God's new kingdom. They believed that they would live on in some shadowy way after death and would enter God's kingdom when this Messiah came. We can rightly presume that God, because of his infinite love and mercy, found ways and means too of giving the pagans of good-will every opportunity to merit that same kingdom when it came. We are the descendants of pagan ancestors who adored idols and knew nothing of God or of a future life. But we are living in the noonday light of the Christian revelation. We know that God, through the incarnation, has raised us up to the status of sonship with him. He has made us capable of possessing a new, eternal life after death. While our struggles and troubles on this earth may not be as grievous as those of our ancestors, they are still sufficiently serious and severe to make most of us almost despondent at times. However, we have the marvelous advantage that we know the reason for suffering. We can and should appreciate the eternal value of earthly suffering. Suffering is, in fact, part of our training and preparation for our eternal reward. Through the cross we receive the crown. This morning, let us thank God from our hearts for the "good tidings" of our redemption and exaltation, brought to us by Christ the Son of God and our loving Brother. We are free-men, children of God, on our way to heaven. The road may be rough at times. It may be strewn with many crosses and trials. But if we keep the thought of the happy ending ever before our minds, we shall never falter, never give up. Nothing matters so much to us in this life as the guarantee that we will end it in God's love and friendship. It is only by endeavoring to live in God's love and friendship that we can assure ourselves of this guarantee. These days of preparation for Christmas are very suitable for us to prepare to meet Christ our Lord when he comes as our Judge.

Do you know the favor of the Lord? Every 50 years the people of Israel were commanded to celebrate a Year of Jubilee – a year of favor by the Lord (Leviticus 25:10-12). God did not want his people to forget all the blessings and favors he had shown them over the years. Isaiah prophesied in a year of Jubilee that God would send his anointed one to bring his people back from their time of exile (Isaiah 61). The anointed one would bring good news (the same word as "gospel") – news of freedom for those who were oppressed by sin, darkness, despair, and brokenness (Isaiah 61:1-2).

When John the Baptist announced the imminent coming of God's anointed one, the Messiah, the religious leaders questioned his authority to speak so boldly in God's name. They asked him bluntly, "Who are you?" and "What do you say about yourself?" They wanted to know if he was really sent by God. Did he claim to be the Messiah or one of the great prophets who was expected to return and announce the Messiah's arrival (see Malachi 4:5, Deuteronomy 18:15)? John had no doubt and no mistaken identity about his call and mission. In all humility and sincerity he said he was only a voice bidding people to get ready for the arrival of the greatest Ruler of all, God's anointed King and Messiah.

John the Baptist bridges the Old and New Testaments. He is the last of the Old Testament prophets who points the way to the Messiah. He is the first of the New Testament witnesses and martyrs. He is the herald who prepares the way for Jesus and who announces his mission to the people: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29). John saw from a distance what the Messiah would come to accomplish – our redemption from slavery to sin and our adoption as sons and daughters of God, our heavenly Father. Do you recognize who you are in Christ? The Lord Jesus has come to restore us to friendship with God and he has made us citizens of heaven – his everlasting kingdom of peace and justice.

John was the greatest of the prophets, yet he lived as a humble and faithful servant of God. He pointed others to Jesus, the true Messiah and Savior of the world. The Christian church from the earliest of times has given John many titles which signify his mission: Witness of the Lord, Trumpet of Heaven, Herald of Christ, Voice of the Word, Precursor of Truth, Friend of the Bridegroom, Crown of the Prophets, Forerunner of the Redeemer, Preparer of Salvation, Light of the Martyrs, and Servant of the Word. Do you point others to Jesus Christ by the example and witness of your life?

"Lord Jesus, make me a herald of your word of truth and grace. Help me to be a faithful witness of the joy of the gospel and to point others to you as John did through his testimony."

Christ the Teacher The “priests and Levites” had charge of Jerusalem’s Temple worship. John came from a family of priests, so it was only natural for them to come and find out why he – one of their own coterie – was acting so abnormally and making such a stir among the people. The Pharisees were members of the ruling body of Israel, the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin took charge of reining in false prophets, so they sent a delegation to investigate this new rabble-rouser. Both groups who questioned John listened to his message only through the filter of their personal agendas, and both groups missed the point. Their own preconceived notions impeded their acceptance of God’s word spoken through John.

How often we fall into the same trap! We take refuge in our own exaggerated sense of self-sufficiency and sit in judgment over the Church’s teaching. In many ways, we are trained to do this. Humility, simplicity, faith – these essential Christian virtues are in scant supply at most institutes of higher learning; we prefer to make truth conform to our own wishes rather than adjust our lives to the demands of truth. God “never ceases to draw man to himself,” as the Catechism says (#27), but man (and that includes all of us) tends to resist the tug. From now on, let’s not.