Everyone Shall See the Salvation of Our God
Second Sunday of Advent – Year C
Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 126; Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6
The book of Baruch is addressed to the Jews in exile, primarily in Babylon during the sixth century BC. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and her children are exiled. The city looks eastward, longing for her children’s return, while the exiled, homesick, look westward, toward Jerusalem. “By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept when we remembered Zion” (Ps. 137:1).
Baruch delivers a message of hope: Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and the exiled will return home (Baruch 5:2, 6). In part, this promise was fulfilled after 538 BC, as remembered in today’s psalm: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed” (Ps. 126:1). But this message of hope points to something greater.
Luke’s Gospel places the story of salvation within a specific period of human history (Luke 3:1-2). Judea had been conquered by the Romans in 63 BC, leaving the Jewish people exiled in their own land. Emperor Tiberius (Luke 3:1) ruled the vast Roman Empire for twenty-two years (14-37 CE), and it was during his reign that our Lord was crucified and rose on the third day. But before all of this, John the Baptist appeared in the desert with a message from God.
John went about “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). The image describing this life-changing experience is borrowed from the unknown prophet called Second Isaiah, who, like Baruch, offered a message of hope to the exiles in Babylon. His vision was of a way through the wilderness that would bring the exiles back home (Is. 40:3). Luke adopts this image and gives it new meaning.
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths” (Luke 3:4). How do we do this? By going out into the desert and remembering our history. In remembrance, there is salvation. It was in the wilderness that Israel learned to trust God for their needs and protection. John’s preaching helps them recover this sense of history and trust in God’s providence, applying it to their current situation. While we are not captives of Babylon or Rome, we are captives to sin. It is from this captivity that God desires to set us free: “Then the glory of the Lord shall appear, and all flesh shall see the salvation of our God” (Is. 40:5 LXX).
According to the Acts of the Apostles, the Philippians were the first Europeans to “see” the salvation of our God (Acts 16:1-10). Among them was Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth (Acts 16:14-15), a jailer and his entire household (Acts 16:33), and Clement (Phil. 4:3), who, according to tradition, became the third pope (88-97 CE). The promise of Baruch was ultimately realized in this first European church. God gathers His children from the east and the west to Jerusalem, the symbol of the Church (see Baruch 5:5).
The Bible offers various images of salvation: deliverance from enemies, return from exile, the birth of a child to a barren couple, healing, and forgiveness. Yet all of them point to the final realization of salvation—the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6, 10). This is our collective hope—that one day, all humanity and creation will be set free from the captivity of sin (see Rom. 8:19). However, we are not there yet, and so the process of preparing the way of the Lord continues. It is now our turn to contribute, by living a life that Jesus would be proud of (Phil. 1:9-11). In this task, we are not alone. God has begun this work in us, and He “will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).