Second Sunday in Advent

In the Second Sunday in Advent we move into the middle portion of Advent where the focus is on John the Baptist. And yet, the focus is not really on John the Baptist. The focus is really, as always, on Jesus Christ. In the Second and Third Sundays in Advent where we see John at the forefront of the Gospel reading, we should think of him as He is: the Forerunner. (Not at the forefront, but as the Forerunner of Christ.) He was always pointing people to Christ. As the last of the Old Testament prophets (even though he shows up in the New Testament) John followed along in what all the other Old Testament prophets did: point people to Christ.

No, the middle part of Advent is not really about John. It’s really about Christ. The Church Year is always about Christ—the entire thing and every portion of it. John the Baptist makes that clear. He himself said that he must decrease while Christ must increase.

May it be so among us.