Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Thursday of the Second Week in Advent

LECTIONARY
184

FIRST READING

IS 41:13-20

I am the LORD, your God,
who grasp your right hand;
It is I who say to you, "Fear not,
I will help you."
Fear not, O worm Jacob,
O maggot Israel;
I will help you, says the LORD;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and double-edged,
To thresh the mountains and crush them,
to make the hills like chaff.
When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off
and the storm shall scatter them.
But you shall rejoice in the LORD,
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the desert into a marshland,
and the dry ground into springs of water.
I will plant in the desert the cedar,
acacia, myrtle, and olive;
I will set in the wasteland the cypress,
together with the plane tree and the pine,
That all may see and know,
observe and understand,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

PSALM

PS 145:1 AND 9, 10-11, 12-13AB

Response: The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

Let them make known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

GOSPEL

MT 11:11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:
"Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force.
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."

Daily Reflection

While in exile, the question uppermost in the minds of the Israelites was when is the salvation, that God promised, coming? The first glimmer of hope dawned when the Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon and freed the exiled Israelites. He not only let them go, but ordered them to rebuild their Temple and even made a generous contribution towards the cause. Naturally, for many Israelites, he was looked upon as the anointed one, which in Hebrew, is Messiah. To clarify, Isaiah speaks God’s message to the Israelites, “The Holy One of Israel is your redeemer”; The Lord Himself says “I will lead you... I will help you”.

Years later, still awaiting their redeemer, once again the people mistake John the Baptist to be the Messiah. But John immediately clarifies that he is only a witness to prepare them for the Messiah’s arrival. Today’s Gospel tells us that if we are to be great in the eyes of God, we need to emulate John: his humble witness for Jesus and his uncompromising stand against evil.

How will I witness to the Messiah’s arrival this Advent?