Baruch 5:1-9; Philippians 1:4-6,8-11; Luke 3:1-6
In 539 BC the streets of Babylon echoed with a great declaration from Cyrus, the king of Persia. It announced freedom to Jews, allowing Jews to return home. In 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed the Kingdom of Judah and took away the Jews to Babylon as captives.
The exile to Babylon was a traumatic event in Jewish history, as the destruction of the political independence of the kingdom coincided with the destruction of the monarchy and of the First Temple of Jerusalem. For about 50 years the Jews lived a miserable life in Babylon. For them King Cyrus' announcement was great News .
The exile to Babylon was a traumatic event in Jewish history, as the destruction of the political independence of the kingdom coincided with the destruction of the monarchy and of the First Temple of Jerusalem. For about 50 years the Jews lived a miserable life in Babylon. For them King Cyrus' announcement was great News .
But this historic event was prophesied by Prophet Baruch years ago. We heard it in today's first reading. "Though they led them from you on foot, with enemies for an escort, now God brings them back to you like royal princes." And the return of Jews from exile is recorded by Joachim, Ezra and Nehemiah.
But today's reading does not confine itself to the historic event of exile and return from the exile. The prophecy has a wider and deeper meaning. The prophecy announces the return of the whole human race to God.
The Prophet declares that to facilitate this return "Every mountain must be flattened and every valley filled." These same words are repeated by St John the Baptist. To prepare the way for the Lord, "Every valley must be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, winding ways will be straightened and rough roads made smooth."
Let's have a look at the symbolic meaning of today's Gospel.
It says every valley should be filled in – The valley stands for deep chasms. Deep chasms are filled with darkness, and they stand for separation. So the valley here stands for the estrangement of man from God. When sin enters into the life of man, he flees from the presence of God and hides in dark deep chasms. When Adam sinned, God called him, "Adam, where are you?"
Adam replied, " I am hiding from you, because I am afraid of you."
Again, when Cain slew his brother, God called him. He asked God, " Am I my brother's keeper?.
When we do something against our brothers, we are estranged from God. When we do not listen to our consciousness, we are estranged from God. When we do not obey the word of God, we are estranged from God. The deep and dark chasm between us and God widens and intensifies. So the first thing the prophets demand from us, John the Baptist reminds us, God wants from us is to avoid sin and walk in the way of righteousness. Then like Saul, we will be able to respond, "Lord here am I." Like Mary our mother we will be able to declare, " let it be done to me as you wish."
Again, the Gospel says, "every mountain and hill be laid low." The hill refers to the pride of man. Pride arises from the vain superiority feeling. We read in the Bible that – people thought they were strong enough to challenge God. So they decided to build a huge tower that would touch the clouds. From the top of it they would challenge God. We too in our vanity stand on the top of our pride and dare to challenge God. When we are healthy, when we have a secure job, when we have relatives and friends to support us, when we have enough money in our hand, we feel like "Ozymandias" that we are "kings." These mountains of pride should be levelled and in humility we should stand before God. Like St Paul who spent days and days waiting for the command of God, we should humble ourselves and wait for the coming of Jesus.
Satish
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Stories
Satish
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Stories
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One day a
little girl asked her parents: "What is marriage?" After a few
moments of reflection the father answered. "Marriage, honey, is like
a contract between two persons who want to live together in love and
understanding all the days of their lives. They also want to share their
love with children." The little girl answered: "Oh, now I
understand." Her father asked: "What do you
understand?" The girl added: "I understand that you and mommy
are not yet married."
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One day an
African mother left her baby in the house as she went down to the river to wash
clothes. After some time she heard screaming and saw smoke. As she
ran toward the village, she saw that her house was on fire. "My
baby, my baby" she cried. With no thought for her safety she dashed
into the house to save her baby. Just as she was leaving the burning
thatched roof fell on her but she managed to get the baby out safely. She
herself was badly burned and badly disfigured. This same mother used all
of her energy to take care of her child, to educate him and even to send him to
medical school. Her boy was a great success but never returned to the
village. After some years the mother wanted to see her son so she went to
Kinshasa. With the help of friends she found he office of her son the
doctor. She knocked on the door and a nurse opened it but was shocked by
the presence of the disfigured woman. "Yes?" "I want
to see my son". "Who is your son?" "The
doctor". The nurse left the woman outside the office and went to ask
the doctor if he could see his mother. "My mother? What does
she look like?" "She is horribly disfigured." "In
that case," said the doctor, "she cannot be my mother who is very
beautiful. Send her away."