For the Second Sunday of Advent (Cycle B, 2020)
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. —Mark 1:2-4 Advent is a complicated season. I’m tempted to say that this is the most complex season of the Church Year. Advent presumes that we Christians have been formed in an adult faith that is prepared to celebrate an adult Christmas. And, as we know, Advent isn’t a season that is focused only on the past, because this is the time we focus our attention on One who is among us right now and who will come in glory in the future. Although Advent is a season of hope, hope seems to be in short supply these days. So, as I was reflecting on this Sunday's readings , I thought about what hope might mean for our Church and the world. In this, I realized that I was making a mi...