2nd Sunday of Advent, Cycle B
1st Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Prologue: Promise of Deliverance
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[1] Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. [2] Speak tenderly to Jerusa-
lem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that
she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. [3] A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a
highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill
be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a
plain. [5] And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
[9] Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your
voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say
to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” [10] Behold, the Lord God comes with
might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recom-
pense before him. [11] He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the
lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that
are with young.
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Commentary:
40:1-55:13. These chapters make up the second part of the book of Isaiah, also
known as “Second Isaiah” or “Deutero-Isaiah”. Almost everything here refers to
a period of history one or two centuries later than that of “First Isaiah”. The op-
pressor is no longer Assyria but Babylon, which conquered Jerusalem in 587-
586 BC, and then began a series of deportations that sent the upper classes
of Jerusalem and Judah into exile. Many years later (539 BC), Cyrus, king of
the Persians, conquered the Babylonians and issued a decree allowing those
deportees who so wished to return home. These events are echoed in Second
Isaiah’s oracles, songs, lamentations and denunciations,and the prophetic
visions of the final, enduring deliverance and restoration of the chosen people
and the city of Zion.
The various literary units in this part of the book are grouped into two Is 52:7-11
sections more or less by subject. The first (40:1-48:22) implies that the Jews are
still held against their will in Babylon. Their deliverance is announced, thanks to
the power of the Lord, who rules the world and determines the course of human
affairs; he has chosen Cyrus, king of Persia, called here his “anointed”, his
messiah, to redeem Israel from exile (44:24-45:25).
This section, too, contains the announcement that God will choose a “servant”,
whom he will send empowered by the Spirit to establish law and justice (42:1-9,
the first “song of the Servant”).
The second section celebrates the glorious restoration of the people of God on
Zion; in this, too, the “Servant of the Lord” will play the key role; the section con-
tains the last three “songs of the Servant” (49: 1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12).
40:1-48:22. The historical background to these chapters is the time immediately
after the return of the exiles from Babylon, which is depicted as a “new exodus”.
The exodus from Egypt was the prototype of all God’s interventions on his peo-
ple’s behalf: now we hear of another one, “new” because the power with which
God, the Creator of all things, acts now surpasses that to be seen in the exodus.
The news that deliverance is at hand greatly consoles the people: we are told
this at the start, and it is repeated in the oracles that follow. For this reason,
this part of the book of Isaiah is usually called the “Book of Consolation", and it
has been interpreted as an anticipation of the consolation that Christ will bring:
“The true consolation, balm and release from all human ills is the Incarnation of
our God and Saviour” (Theodoret of Cyrus, "Commentaria In Isaiam", 40, 3).
The section opens with a song of joy over the imminent release of the exiles
(40: 1-11). After this a number of oracles are grouped together which describe
the reason why the people should hope in the Lord who is mighty and desires
to save, who is ready to do so (42:1-25), to manifest himself as the Redeemer
of Israel (43:1-44:23) and bring salvation to Jerusalem (44:24-48:19). The section
ends with a prophecy of the redemption of his people and a call to leave Babylon
(48:20-22).
40:1-11. The section begins on a formal note with an anonymous voice proclai-
ming the Lord's consolation (vv 1-5) The same voice calls on the prophet himself
to proclaim that the word of God and his message of salvation will endure forever
(vv. 6-11). The oracles are addressed to those people of Jerusalem who have been
deported to Babylon. When they were first spoken, many decades had passed
since these people and the previous generation were forced to leave the holy city.
Those years of suffering and exile have more than atoned for their sins. The time
comes for them, with the Lord’s help, to set out on the return journey. That jour-
ney is mentioned throughout this section. The voice speaking in the name of the
Lord boosts their morale: it won’t be a difficult journey; they will find a way opened
up for them which will bring them to the glory of the Lord. As in the exodus from
Egypt, on the “way” from Babylon to Jerusalem they will see wonderful evidence
of the power of God. The words spoken by the mysterious voice, inviting them to
set out, fills the returnees with hope.
The four Gospels see these words fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist,
who is the voice crying in the wilderness “Prepare the way of the Lord” (cf. v. 3).
And, indeed, John, with his call to personal conversion and his baptism of repen-
tance, does prepare the way for people to find Jesus (cf. Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4;
Jn 1:23), whom the Gospels confess to be “the Lord” (cf. v. 3). John the Baptist
is his herald, the “precursor”: “The voice commands that a way be opened for
the Word of God, the path smoothed and all obstacles removed: when our God
comes, he will be able to walk without hindrance. Prepare the way of the Lord:
this means to preach the gospel and to offer consolation to his people, with the
desire that the salvation of God embrace all mankind” (Eusebius of Caesarea,
"Commentana In Isaiam", 40, 366). Hence, in Christian tradition, “John the Bap-
tist is ‘more than a prophet’ (Lk 7:26). In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his
speaking through the prophets. John completes the cycle of prophets begun by
Elijah (cf. Mt 11:13-14). He proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel;
he is the ‘voice’ of the Consoler who is coming (Jn 1:23; cf. Is 40:1-3)” ("Cate-
chism of the Catho-lic Church", 719).(*)
"세례자 요한은 "어떤 예언자보다
더 나은" 자 입니다(루카 복음서 7,24). 그 안에서,
성령께서는 [구약 시대의] 예언자들을 통한 당신의 말하는
행위(speaking)를 끝맺습니다.
요한은 엘리야(Elijah)에 의하여 시작되었던 예언들의 순환을
완성합니다(마태오 복음서
11,13-14 참조). 그는 이스라엘에 대한 [하느님에 의한] 위로(consolation)의
임박/촉박(imminence)을 선포하며, 그리하여 그는 오시는
중인 위로자(the Consoler
who is coming)의 "목소리(voice)"
입니다(요한 복음서 1,23; 이사야 40,1-3 참조)."
["가톨릭 교회 교리서Catechism of the Catholic Church)", 제719항].(*)
-----
(*) 번역자 주: 가톨릭 교회
교리서 제719항에서의 가르침의 중요성과 이
가르침의
근거를 이루는 교부들의 가르침들은 다음의 글에 있으니 꼭
읽도록 하라:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1594.htm
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In the second part of the oracle, the anonymous voice asks the prophet to speak
in the name of the Lord (vv. 6-8). Merely human plans can only go so far; but the
word of God stands forever In the things that the voice says there must be an al-
lusion to the might of Babylon, which withers like the “flower of the field” when
the “breath of the Lord blows upon it”, because it challenged the goodness of
God. The message to be given to the people speaks of trusting in the power of
God, who comes not to lay waste but to protect and recompense those in his
care (vv. 9-11). Here we find for the first time the simile of the “flock” being ap-
plied to the people of God, one of a number of figures of speech used in Holy
Scripture to describe God’s tender care of his people (cf. Jer 23:3; Ezek 34:1ff;
Ps 23:4) and which Christian tradition uses to explain the mystery of the Church:
“The Church is a sheepfold whose one and indispensable door is Christ (Jn 10:
1-10). It is a flock of which God himself foretold he would be the shepherd (Is 40:
11; Ezek 34:11-31), and whose sheep, although ruled by human shepherds, are
nevertheless continuously led and nourished by Christ himself, the Good Shep-
herd and the Prince of the shepherds (cf. Jn 10:11; 1 Pet 5:4), who gave his life
for the sheep (cf. Jn 10:11-15)” (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 6). The words of
vv. 6-8 will later be used in the First Letter of St Peter to confirm the validity of
the precept of brotherly love (1 Pet 1:24-25).
2nd Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-14
True Teaching
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[8] But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as
a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slow
about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not
wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. [10] But
the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away
with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and
the works that are upon it will be burned up.
Moral Lessons to be Drawn
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[11] Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought
you to be in lives of holiness and godliness awaiting for and hastening the co-
ming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dis-
solved, and the elements will melt with fire! [13] But according to his promise
we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
[14] Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him
without spot or blemish, and at peace.
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Commentary:
8. This passage from v. 4 of Psalm 90 was often cited by Jewish rabbis in their
calculations about how long the messianic times would last and when the end
of the world would be; later on, millenarists would use it as a basis for their far-
fetched theories about Christ and his saints bearing temporal rule for a thousand
years over an earthly kingdom prior to the End. The author of the letter cites the
psalm as an authority for the view that time is a function of Creation and has no
connection with the eternity of God: the fact that the Parousia has not happened
is no reason to deny that it will happen.
9-10. In this passage we are reminded that God, in his great mercy, does not
seek our condemnation but, rather, wants all men to be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4;
Rom 11:22) and shows wonderful patience towards them. The fact that the Pa-
rousia has not yet come about is quite compatible with the certainty that it will
happen, and happen all of a sudden; therefore, far from being an excuse for ma-
king Christian life less demanding, the Parousia is a spur to stay vigilant (the
Master himself used the simile of the thief: cf. Mt 24:43 44; Lk 12:39). "Since
we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord
and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is com-
pleted (cf. Heb 9:27), we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and
be numbered among the blessed (cf. Mt 25:31-46) and not, like the wicked and
slothful servants (cf. Mt 25: 26), be ordered to depart into the eternal fire (cf. Mt
25:41)" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 48).
"The earth and the works that are upon it": there are so many variants in the
Greek manuscripts that it is almost impossible to reconstruct the original text:
but they all convey the idea that the earth will be affected by this universal cata-
clysm.
11-16. The writer now follows up these considerations with a moral exhortation,
based on the conviction that the old world will disappear (v. 12) producing new
heavens and a new earth (v. 13), and that men living in the period prior to this
cataclysm will not know when it is going to happen (v. 15).
All this should not make Christians afraid; in fact, it should bolster their hope
(vv.12-14). God will keep his promise to grant heaven to those who persevere in
good; but this hope of future reward should not lead one to neglect temporal af-
fairs: "Far from diminishing our concern to develop the earth, the expectancy of
a new earth should spur us on, for it is here that the body of a new human family
grows, foreshadowing in some way the age which is to come" (Vatican II, "Gau-
dium Et Spes", 39).
Hope opens the way to upright conduct (v. 11) of an even higher standard (v. 14).
Christians should realize that they have a pressing duty to grow in virtue as long
as they live in this world (v. 15): "God may have given us just one more year in
which to serve him. Don't think of five, or even two. Just concentrate on this one
year, that has just started. Give it to God, don't bury it! This is the resolution we
ought to make" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 47).
The practice of virtue leads to holiness and enduring union with God (v. 14; cf. 1
Thess 3:13). "'While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord' (2
Cor 5:6) and, although we have the first fruits of the Spirit, we groan inwardly (cf.
Rom 8:23) in our anxiety to be with Christ (cf. Phil 1:23). The same love urges
us to live more for Him who died for us and who rose again (cf. 2 Cor 5:15). We
make it our aim, then, to please the Lord in all things (cf. 2 Cor 5:9) and we put
on the armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil
and resist the evil day (cf. Eph 6: 13)" ("Lumen Gentium", 48).
12. "Waiting for and hastening": these two verbs convey the idea that Christian
hope is something dynamic; it is in no way passive. Contrary to a view quite
widespread among the Jews of the time, it does not mean that the Parousia
will come sooner, the more meritorious men are; what it means is that the more
closely united to Christ they are, the nearer they are to his glory. Therefore, it is
urgent that all should embrace faith in Christ. We who have this faith pray in the
Our Father, "Thy kingdom come." The first Christians made the same petition in
their ejaculatory prayer, "Marana tha", "Come, Lord" (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20),
referring to the second coming of the Lord.
"The day of God": the usual expression in the New Testament is "the day of the
Lord" (1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Thess 2:2; 2 Pet 3: 10); both expressions
refer to the point at which Christ will come to judge the living and the dead.
13. "New heavens and a new earth": one of things promised for the End is that
creation will be renewed, re-fashioned: the prophets proclaimed this (cf. Is 65:17),
and the New Testament speaks of drinking new wine at the heavenly banquet (cf.
Mt 14:25), being given a new name (cf. Rev 2:17), singing a new song (cf. Rev
5:9), living in a new Jerusalem (Rev 21:3). All this imagery conveys the idea that
the whole universe will be transformed, man included (cf. Rom 8:19-22). "We
know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man (cf. Acts
1:7) nor the way the universe will be transformed. The form of this world, distor-
ted by sin, is passing away (cf. 1 Cor 7:31), and we are taught that God is pre-
paring a new dwelling and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (cf. 2 Cor
5:2; 2 Pet 3:13), whose happiness will fill and surpass all the desires of peace
arising in the hearts of men" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 39).
Gospel Reading: Mark 1:1-8
The Ministry of John the Baptist
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[1] The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
[2] As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before
thy face, who shall prepare the way; [3] the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
[4] John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repen-
tance for the forgiveness of sins. [5] And there went out to him all the country
of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the
river Jordan, confessing their sins. [6] Now John was clothed in camel's hair, and
had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. [7] And he
preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose
sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. [8] I have baptized you with
water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
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Commentary:
1. With these words St Mark gives us the title of his book and emphasizes that
Jesus is the Messiah foretold by the prophets and that he is the only Son of the
Father, whose nature he shares. The title summarizes the content of the Second
Gospel: Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
The word "gospel" means good tidings, the good news God sends to mankind
through his Son. The content of this good news is, in the first place, Jesus Christ
himself, his words and his actions. "During the Synod [1974 Synod of Bishops],
the Bishops very frequently referred to this truth: Jesus himself, the Good News
of God (Mk 1:1, Rom 1:13), was the very first and the greatest evangelizer: he
was so through and through, to perfection and to the point of the sacrifice of his
earthly life" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 7). The Apostles, who were chosen
by our Lord to be the basis of his Church, fulfilled his commandment to present
to Jews and Gentiles, by means of oral preaching, the witness of what they had
seen and heard--the fulfillment in Jesus Christ of the prophecies of the Old Tes-
tament, and the forgiveness of sins, adoptive sonship and inheritance of heaven
offered by God to all men. For this reason the word "gospel" can also be used
in the case of the Apostles' preaching.
Later, the evangelists, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote down part of this oral
teaching; and thus, through Sacred Scripture and apostolic Tradition, the voice
of Christ is perpetuated throughout the centuries to reach all generations and
all nations.
The Church, which carries on the mission of the Apostles, must make the "gos-
pel" known. This it does, for example, by means of catechesis: "The primary and
essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St Paul and also
to contemporary theology, 'the mystery of Christ.' [...] It is therefore to reveal in
the Person of Christ the whole of God's eternal design reaching fulfillment in that
Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ's actions and words
and of the signs worked by him, for they simultaneously hide and reveal his
mystery. Accordingly, the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only
in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us
to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy
Trinity" (John Paul II, "Catechesi Tradendae", 5).
2-3. The Gospel quotes Isaiah in particular perhaps because he was the most
important of the prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah: that is why
St Jerome called Isaiah the "Evangelist of the Old Testament".
4. St John the Baptist presents himself to the people after spending five years in
the desert. He invites the Israelites to prepare for the coming of the Messiah by
doing penance. The figure of St John points to the continuity between the Old
and New Testaments: he is the last of the prophets and the first of the witnesses
to Jesus. Whereas the other prophets announced Jesus from afar, John the Bap-
tist was given the special privilege of actually pointing him out (cf. Jn 1:29; Mt 11:
9-11).
The baptism given by the Precursor was not Christian Baptism: it was a peniten-
tial rite; but it prefigured the dispositions needed for Christian Baptism--faith in
Christ, the Messiah, the source of grace, and voluntary detachment from sin.
5. "Confessing their sins": by seeking John's baptism a person showed that he
realized he was a sinner: the rite which John performed announced forgiveness
of sins through a change of heart and helped remove obstacles in the way of a
person's acceptance of the Kingdom (Lk 3:10-14).
This confessing of sin was not the same as the Christian sacrament of Penance.
But it was pleasing to God because it was a sign of interior repentance and the
people performed genuine penitential acts (Mt 3:7-10; Lk 3:7-9). In the Sacra-
ment of Penance, in order to obtain God's forgiveness one must confess one's
sins orally. In this connection John Paul II has said: "And keep in mind that the
teaching of the Council of Trent on the need for confession of all mortal sins still
holds and will always hold (Sess. XIV, Chap. 5 and Can. 7). The norm taught by
St Paul and by the same Council of Trent, according to which the worthy recep-
tion of the Eucharist must be preceded by the confession of sins when one is
conscious of mortal sin, is and always will be in force in the Church (Sess. XIII,
Chap. 7 and Can. 11)" ("Address to Penitentiaries of the Four Major Basilicas
in Rome", 30 January 1981).
8. "Baptizing with the Holy Spirit" refers to the Baptism Jesus will institute and
shows how it differs from the baptism of John. In John's baptism, as in the other
rites of the Old Testament, grace was only signified, symbolized. "By the bap-
tism of the New Law, men are baptized inwardly by the Holy Spirit, and this is
accomplished by God alone. But by the baptism of John the body alone was
cleansed by the water" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae, III, q. 38,
art. 2 ad 1). In Christian Baptism, instituted by our Lord, the baptismal rite not
only signifies grace but is the effective cause of grace, i.e. it confers grace.
"Baptism confers the first sanctifying grace and the supernatural virtues, taking
away Original Sin and also personal sins if there are any, together with the entire
debt of punishment which the baptized person owes for sin. In addition, Baptism
impresses the Christian character in the soul and makes it able to receive the
other sacraments" ("St. Pius X Cathechism", 295). The effects of Christian Bap-
tism, like everything to do with the sanctification of souls, are attributed to the
Holy Spirit, the "Sanctifier". It should be pointed out, however, that like all the
"ad extra" actions of God (i.e. actions external to the initimate life of the Bles-
sed Trinity), the sanctification of souls is the work of all three Divine Persons.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태,
출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다. 그리고 본문 중의 우리말 번역문에
대한 저작권은 엮은이에게 있으며, 본문 중의 우리말 번역문들을 복사하여 가져가는 것을
허락하지 않습니다.]