Readings: Baruch 5:1-9 / Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11 / Luke 3:1-6
Three Voices, One Journey
Today's readings give us three perspectives on the same Advent journey, the
journey home to God.
Baruch shows us the destination. Jerusalem, take off your mourning clothes. Put on the splendor of glory
from God. He will lead you home in joy, with the mountains made low and the
valleys filled, so the path is smooth for your return.
Luke shows us the preparation. John stands in the desert, quoting Isaiah's promise: "Prepare the
way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled, and
every mountain and hill shall be made low." The rough terrain of our lives
must be transformed.
Paul shows us the process. God who began this good work in you will complete it. But your part? Let
your love grow in knowledge and perception. Learn to discern what really
matters. Become pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
The destination is glory. The preparation is radical transformation. The
process is growing in love and discernment. All three readings converge on a
single truth: Advent is about getting ready to go home.
The Desert Announcement
Luke opens with meticulous detail: "In the fifteenth year of the
reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod
was tetrarch of Galilee..."
All these names. All this power. The entire apparatus of worldly
authority, emperors in Rome, governors in Jerusalem, tetrarchs in Galilee, high
priests in the temple.
And then: "the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the
desert."
Not to Caesar. Not to Pilate. Not to the high priest in his golden
vestments. To a wild man in camel hair, eating locusts, standing in the
wasteland.
God bypasses all the centers of power and speaks in the wilderness. The
message? "Prepare the way of the Lord."
John announces the ancient prophecy: valleys will be filled, mountains
will be leveled, crooked paths will be straightened, rough ways will be made
smooth. And when this work is done, "all flesh will see the salvation of
God."
This is the Advent work. This is what it means to prepare.
The Three Transformations
1. Every Valley Shall Be Filled
(Baruch's Promise)
Baruch promises that God will level mountains and fill valleys to make
the journey home smooth. The valleys are the low places, the places where life
has carved out emptiness.
The valley of despair when hope has drained away and you can't see the point anymore.
The valley of shame where you've sunk so low you think God couldn't possibly want you back.
The valley of emptiness that you keep trying to fill with work, pleasure, achievement,
distraction—anything except God.
Baruch says God Himself will do the filling. He will lead you home in
joy. But you have to stop trying to fill these valleys yourself with the wrong
things. You have to let Him do it with His presence, His grace, His love.
Advent question: What emptiness in your life are you trying to fill with everything
except God?
2. Every Mountain Shall Be Made Low
(Luke's Call)
The mountains are the high places, the places where we've elevated
ourselves, where pride blocks the path.
The mountain of self-sufficiency where you've convinced yourself you can handle everything alone.
The mountain of pride where you're so focused on your own righteousness, your own
achievements, your own identity that there's no room for God to work.
The mountain of control where you're still playing God instead of trusting God.
John announces these must be leveled. Not reduced a little. Made low.
Demolished. Because as long as these mountains stand, Jesus can't come in.
You're blocking the way.
Paul reinforces this: your love must increase in knowledge and
perception. You can't stay where you are. You can't coast on last year's faith.
Growth requires humility, the recognition that you still have so much to learn.
Advent question: What pride or self-sufficiency is blocking Jesus' path into your life?
3. The Crooked Made Straight (Paul's
Discernment)
The crooked paths are the twisted ways we've learned to live, the moral
compromises we've made peace with, the rationalizations we use to justify what
we know is wrong.
The twisted truth we tell ourselves to stay comfortable.
The compromised relationship where we've given up on real reconciliation and settled for cold peace.
The duplicity we've lived with so long we barely notice it anymore.
Paul says love must grow in knowledge and "every kind of
perception", the Greek word suggests discernment, the ability to
distinguish what's excellent from what merely seems good. You need to see
clearly. You need to recognize the crooked paths for what they are.
Baruch says you must take off the robe of mourning before you can put on
the robe of glory. You can't cling to the old identity built around your wounds
and simultaneously embrace the new identity God offers.
Advent question: What moral compromise have you made peace with that God wants to make
war with?
The Journey Requires All Three
Notice how the readings interlock:
Baruch gives you hope. God will complete the journey. He will lead you home. The destination is
glory, not more grief. Take off mourning; put on splendor.
Luke gives you honesty. The journey requires radical transformation. Valleys must be filled.
Mountains must be leveled. Crooked paths must be straightened. Don't minimize
the work.
Paul gives you partnership. God will complete what He began, but you must participate. Your love
must grow. You must learn discernment. You must become pure and blameless
through active cooperation with grace.
You need all three. Hope without honesty becomes presumption. Honesty
without hope becomes despair. And both need the active partnership Paul
describes, the daily choice to grow in love, knowledge, and perception.
This is the Advent journey.
The Desert Is Where It Happens
John doesn't preach in Jerusalem. He preaches in the desert—the place of
stripping down, of clarity, of dependence on God alone.
Before Jesus can come, we need our own desert time. Our own place of
getting honest about what needs to change. The desert is uncomfortable. It's
where all the distractions fall away and you're left with just yourself and
God.
In the desert, you can't hide behind your accomplishments. You can't
distract yourself with busyness. You can't fill the emptiness with the usual
substitutes. The valleys show up stark and obvious. The mountains cast long
shadows. The crooked paths reveal themselves.
This is why Advent feels uncomfortable sometimes. It's meant to. We're in
the desert with John, hearing the hard truth: something has to change.
God's word doesn't come to the comfortable. It comes to those willing to
stand in the wilderness and let the truth be spoken.
For Your Reflection
Take your time with these questions. Don't rush. Advent is four weeks for
a reason.
About Valleys (What Needs to Be Filled):
- What emptiness in your life are
you trying to fill with everything except God?
- Where has despair or shame carved
out a low place in your heart?
- What would it look like to let
God fill those valleys instead of just managing them?
About Mountains (What Needs to Be Leveled):
- What pride or self-sufficiency is
blocking Jesus' path into your life?
- Where are you still playing God
instead of trusting God?
- What accomplishment or identity
have you built that needs to be made low so Christ can be high?
About Crooked Paths (What Needs to Be Straightened):
- What moral compromise have you
made peace with that God wants to make war with?
- Where have you twisted the truth
to make yourself comfortable?
- What relationship or situation
have you given up on that God wants to redeem?
About the Journey (Bringing All Three Readings Together):
- Can you see the destination
Baruch promises? Does the hope of glory sustain you?
- Are you honest about the
transformation Luke announces? Or are you minimizing what needs to change?
- Are you growing in love and
discernment as Paul describes? Or are you coasting on old faith?
Praying the Glorious Mysteries
As you pray the rosary today, see how these mysteries reveal the
completed journey, the destination Baruch promised:
The Resurrection - Death's valley is filled with eternal life; sin's mountain is
demolished and made low.
The Ascension - Jesus goes ahead to prepare a place; the way home to the Father is
opened.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit - God Himself comes to do the leveling and filling work in our hearts;
we don't travel alone.
The Assumption - Mary shows us the destination is real; the journey home is possible;
glory awaits.
The Coronation - The splendor Baruch promised is revealed; mourning is replaced with a
crown; the journey ends in joy.
John prepared the way for Jesus' first coming. The Glorious Mysteries
show us what that coming accomplished. Now we prepare the way for His coming again,
both at the end of time and in the daily moments He wants to enter our lives.
The journey has a destination. The transformation has a purpose. The
process has a completion.
A Quiet Challenge
Francis rebuilt San Damiano with his own hands, stone by stone. The
church was in ruins, and God told him, "Francis, go and repair my house
which, as you see, is falling into ruin."
He started with the literal building. Later he understood God meant the
whole Church. But the work was the same: taking what was broken and making it
right. Filling in what had collapsed. Clearing away what had decayed.
What needs rebuilding in your life? What structure of faith or practice
or relationship has fallen into ruin while you were busy with other things?
This week, choose one thing, just one; and start the repair.
Stone by stone. Prayer by prayer. Conversation by conversation.
Baruch says the journey home is possible. Luke says the path must be
prepared. Paul says you must grow in love and discernment.
All three together: the journey home requires transformation, and the
transformation happens through love.
Closing
Pray this in the silence:
"Lord, show me the journey home. Show me the valleys of emptiness I
keep trying to fill with anything but You. Show me the mountains of pride that
block the path. Show me the crooked paths I've learned to walk without even
noticing they're twisted. Give me the hope Baruch promised, the honesty Luke
demanded, and the growing love Paul described. I can't prepare the way alone.
But with You, I can begin."
Then ask:
- What one valley needs filling
this Advent?
- What one mountain needs leveling
this Advent?
- What one crooked path needs
straightening this Advent?
Don't try to fix everything. Just start somewhere.
The Lord who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. He
will lead you home in joy, with the mountains leveled and the valleys filled.
Prepare the way. He's coming.
Second Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2025
A Franciscan Reflection
©2025 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
