Is 40:1-5, 9-11 | Ps 85 | 2 Pt 3:8-14 | Mk 1:1-8
Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish priest and amateur astronomer, initiated a revolution. His observations of the heavens convinced him that the sun was the center of the solar system, while the earth was one of many heavenly bodies that rotated around it. This heliocentric theory wasn’t supported by Church officials at the time, who found justification for the earth being the center of the universe in the Scriptures. Thus, Copernicus was forced to wait until the year of his death to publish his work. But when the world learned of his work, it became the first and most profound statement in the Scientific Revolution. Copernicus then blazed a path that others were able to follow.
Copernicus was a trailblazer. He had the courage to tread a path that others could follow, making our world a better place. On this Second Sunday of Advent, our Gospel describes how John the Baptist blazed a special path as he prepared the way of the Lord. We are asked to do the same for our brothers and sisters today.
John’s ministry must be our work today. We have the task of being trailblazers and bringing others closer to God. We are to assist Christ in creating the new heaven and new earth described in our second reading from Saint Peter. Parents, I believe, serve a very significant role as trailblazers by setting an example for their children and serving as their first teachers. This truth is address in the baptismal rite when they present their children for baptism: “You are to be their first teachers; may you be the best of teachers.” All teachers, coaches, and mentors have a very important function, as youth look up to them as advisers and guides. Those in positions of authority in business, government, and the Church must blaze paths that others will want to follow.
We all have to step up to the plate, be accountable, and, like John the Baptist, blaze paths that will truly make our families, neighborhoods, nations, and churches better and more holy.
As our Advent journey continues, let us be thankful for those people of the past: the famous recorded by history, and others whom we have known personally; likely enough, our parents and grandparents, who have shown us the proper road. And let us honor them and only build upon the gift of their foundation and do our share to blaze similar paths for others in imitation of Christ: our brother and friend, who is Lord.