The Second Sunday of Advent

 Prepare the way for the Lord.  Read this week’s readings here.

A Bit of Timeline Whiplash

The Lectionary does not always progress in chronological order – but, the most time travel in the Gospel readings is during Advent.  It is more important to look at the theme of each week, rather than thinking of things in chronological order.  In our time, Christ is here; He is present at every Eucharist.  However, we are preparing not only for His birth, but also for his returning, of which we do not know the day or hour.  These weeks are for spiritual growth, preparing for Jesus to be in our hearts and lives.

What is a Tetrarch?

The first thing we hear in Sunday’s Gospel is, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee.” (Luke 3:1)  Luke is setting the political scene here, in the days leading up to Jesus’s public ministry.  Herod was called tetrarch, which originally (in Greek) meant ruler of one fourth.  In the Roman Empire, it meant a subordinate ruler; Herod was a puppet king.  The Romans would often install local rulers to deal with the common people.  Herod had Pilate as his superior in governing the area where Jesus lived.

Herod Antipas

This Herod is Antipas, not Herod the Great – Herod the Great died shortly after Jesus was born – 1 or 4 AD in the modern calendar, depending on the historian. (Jesus was born 6 to 4 BC). As a Tetrarch, this Herod’s power was already limited.  In addition, John the Baptist was preaching against sin, and he preached against Herod Antipas’s scandalous personal life – that Herod discarded his original wife Phasa’el and married Herodias, his niece.

St. John the Baptist

John’s message and ministry is a spiritual first Advent.  His own birth was considered a miracle, as Mary’s kin Elizabeth gave birth to him despite being advanced in age.  Most importantly, John’s ministry was preparing the faithful.  He was preaching repentance for sins, baptizing with water, and getting the people ready for Jesus’s coming.  Sound familiar? Yup. It should!  “A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” (Luke 3:4)  There is good reason this is heard during Advent, as we prepare ourselves for the Lord – just as John the Baptist prepared Jesus’s early disciples. 

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