The Word This Week

Again we hear about the coming “Day of Christ”, and meet the character of John the Baptist. Just as once before he “prepared the way” for the coming of Christ, so today he does the same for us. Our hearts should be open to his voice, as he calls us to repentance, and asks us to make the way straight for the coming of our Lord. The imagery of this Sunday is particularly rich: the dominant image is of a vast population moving together – the return from exile in the first reading, the going and coming of the sowers in the psalm, the community of the Church preparing together in Paul’s letter. We prepare for the coming of the Lord as His people – a community who cooperate to make the “processional way” of the Holy One – flattening the hills of opposition and ridicule, filling in the valleys of doubt and despair, so that “all mankind shall see the salvation of God”.

Mass Readings