“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy” (Psalm 126).

On this Second Sunday of Advent, the first reading from the book of the prophet Baruch speaks of the dignity that is about to be restored to the city of Jerusalem as those who had been exiled are about to return to the city. The prophet had witnessed the humiliation of Jerusalem, as it had been captured by the Babylonians, and its people were carried off into the Babylonian exile in the years 587-588 B.C.. For the Jewish people, to lose the city of Jerusalem and to be carried away from it was to lose that holy place where they were to encounter and live with God in their midst. God had given them this city and land as a place for them to be His people and live in His presence. The exile from Jerusalem was not unlike the exile from the Garden of Eden experienced by Adam and Eve when they turned away from God through sin. Carried away from Jerusalem, the Jewish people were carried away from the city in which they encountered God in the His Temple. As the prophet speaks about this longed for return to God’s Holy City for the Jewish people, Baruch also speaks about the manner in which God will fill in the valleys of hardship that the people have experienced and make everything as though it had been a smooth plain. This is to state that God’s love will fill up all the voids and hardships that His people had suffered through this time of exile. With God’s love and mercy, all will be well. Continue reading →