Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent
Readings: Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 125; Philippians 1:3-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6
Half of today’s gospel from Luke is full of names and places which are not very familiar to us. When giving us an account of the predicted birth of John the Baptist in Chapter 1, Luke starts with a description of who was exercising power and where. So too when he gives an account of the birth of Jesus in Chapter 2. Here now in Chapter 3, he begins the account of the ministry of John the Baptist with a description of who was emperor, who was governor, who was tetrarch and who was high priest. ‘He begins with the empire, works through regional authorities and ends with the religious leadership.’[1] Each time we are given a context of earthly and priestly power. It’s as if we were to start a story: ‘When Trump was US president, when Netanyahu was Israel’s prime minister, and when Francis was pope, this event took place’. The reader in 50 years’ time would immediately have a social, political and religious context for what follows.
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John the Baptist comes in the midst of his own social, political and religious context, proclaiming a baptism of repentance, invoking the image used by the prophets Isaiah and Baruch: the image of every valley being filled in, every hill being laid low, every road being made straight and smooth. This permanent change to the landscape occurs ‘so that Israel can walk free under the glory of God’ and so that ‘all humanity shall see the salvation of God’. The prophet Baruch tells Jerusalem to take off the dress of sorrow and distress, wrapping ‘the cloak of the integrity of God around you’.
During Advent, there are many scripture readings prophesying peace, security, integrity and abundance for Israel. In our present social, political and religious context, these readings can be quite jarring. There is presently none of this sense of permanence in Israel. It seems pie in the sky to imagine Israel walking free under the glory of God, being wrapped in the cloak of integrity. There is still no prospect of peace; not even the prospect of respectful dialogue about the way forward. Even here in Australia, we’ve had the torching of a synagogue on Friday.
This past week Australia joined with 156 other nations at the United Nations supporting a resolution convening an international conference in June next year which ‘will be aimed at advancing the implementation of the United Nations resolutions pertaining to the question of Palestine and the two-State solution for the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East’. Seven nations abstained and only eight nations voted against the motion, including Israel and the United States. No doubt those nations voting against the motion would be greatly troubled by the parts of the resolution that express the UN’s ‘unwavering support, in accordance with international law, for the two-State solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders, based on the pre-1967 borders’ and those parts of the resolution that demand ‘that Israel, the occupying power, comply strictly with its obligations under international law, including as reflected in the advisory opinion of the International Court of 19 July 2024, including to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as rapidly as possible, to cease immediately all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory’[2].
Our Ambassador at the UN, James Larsen, said: ‘Our vote today in favour of the resolution concerning the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine returns Australia to the position it took until 2001. In the years leading up to that point, it was a time when the international community, and the parties themselves, came together to chart a path towards a two-state solution. A Palestinian state and the State of Israel side-by-side within safe, secure and internationally recognised borders. Our vote today reflects our determination that the international community again work together to build momentum towards this goal.’ He insisted that ‘a two-state solution remains the only hope of breaking the endless cycle of violence – the only hope to see a secure and prosperous future for both peoples’.[3]
But even here in Australia, those on both sides of the conflict have no confidence whatsoever that there could be a two-state solution.
Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, called the resolution ‘woefully one-sided’: ‘By promising the Palestinians everything they want without imposing any obligations on them whatsoever, this resolution is simply a recipe for further conflict, not peace.’ Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said: ‘These resolutions won’t bring about peace, all they do is reward terrorism.’[4]
Meanwhile Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, said ‘The two-state solution is absolutely dead.’[5] He compared it to partitioning South Africa as a way to end apartheid in the 1990s.
How will we look back in decades to come on that time when a UN conference on the two-state solution was convened in June 2025 when Trump was president of the US, Netanyahu the Prime Minister of Israel and Francis was pope? We should not need to flatten every mountain and fill in every valley as we negotiate the long, rocky winding road to peace. May we dare to pray:
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like people dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
[1] Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke, Sacra Pagina Series (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991), 64.
[2] https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n24/368/10/pdf/n2436810.pdf
[3]https://unny.mission.gov.au/unny/241203_Plenary_Peaceful_Settlment_of_the_Question_of_Palestine.html
[4] https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/blood-libel-australian-ambassador-dressed-down-over-visa-denial-20241204-p5kvp2.html
[5] https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/the-two-state-solution-is-absolutely-dead-leading-palestinian-advocate-says-20241205-p5kw3h.html
Fr Frank Brennan SJ is serving as part of a Jesuit team of priests working within a new configuration of the Toowong, St Lucia and Indooroopilly parishes in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Frank Brennan SJ is a former CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). Fr Frank’s latest book is An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a Constitutional Bridge, Garratt Publishing, 2023 and his new book is ‘Lessons from Our Failure to Build a Constitutional Bridge in the 2023 Referendum’ (Connor Court, 2024).
