Is 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak to the heart…” This is how today’s first reading begins. In this time of Advent “comfort,” “speak to the heart” becomes an invitation and a mission for every Christian in a world where many lives are fragmented and wounded.
God is a God who consoles, who speaks to the heart, and, at the same time, is a God who “shepherds his flock: he gathers the lambs in his arms, he carries them in his lap, and treats the lambs with care…” as today’s reading concludes. He is God who cares for, defends, and loves life manifested in all its expressions. It is God who embraces us, carries us in his lap, and treats us with care.
The way Jesus of Nazareth acted in his life and mission is the same way God acts. John the Baptist proclaims it in today’s Gospel, “After me comes one who is stronger than I … I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Like the prophet we are invited to announce good news, to announce hope and to welcome with our hearts the time of God who will reveal himself to us in Jesus of Nazareth and will act in us through the power of the Spirit.
— Blog entry by Frania Ponce (Casa Sofia, Guatemala); photo by Ivan Samkov