Exploring the Sunday Gospel - Second Sunday of Advent
This Sunday is the Second Sunday of Advent. The Gospel reading is Matthew’s account of
how John the Baptist prepared for the ministry of Jesus. John makes good use of the text
from the prophet Isaiah, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ Matthew’s
account emphasises the messages of judgement and of conflict with God’s unrepentant
people. There is here a note of urgency in the message. This passage has been chosen for the
Second Sunday of Advent to remind us to get on with our preparations for the Lord’s coming.
For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during
the preceding week, I invited reflection on the image of Christmas cards. In today’s picture
from his book, Christmas Time, Teddy Horsley and Betsy Bear are on their way to post their
Christmas cards in good time before Christmas Day.
Lord Jesus Christ,
We prepare for your coming by sending and receiving cards.
Teach us to remember you
in every card we send
and in every greeting we receive;
that we may be ready
to celebrate your birth on Christmas Day.
Amen.
Next Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, continues to keep focus on John the Baptist. The
image to help prepare for next Sunday’s theme is wrapping presents. You can find out more
about that theme by looking at the Educational Resources and the Preparation Resources.
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