The messenger

Second Sunday of Advent Yr B

News quickly arrives to us today. We have various types of messengers who tell us what is happening around us. It may be that we have too many! It is not easy to recognise if what we are being told is true or not, some may give false thwarted information. In Jesus’ time, there were different messengers, maybe not as many as we have today, but even during those times, there were those who tried to deliver misleading messages. John the Baptist was an important messenger who proclaimed the coming of Jesus, he helped to prepare the people for Jesus’ teachings. 

God never abandons us. God always sends us messengers. Our difficulty lies in knowing that it is from God, understanding the message and doing what he wants.

Daily, we are overwhelmed with news and models of how we should live, how to think and how to behave, and this may puzzle us.  Who is “the voice of one crying out in the desert” for us? Most probably it will not be someone dressed in “camel’s hair and eating locusts and wild honey.” Every day God speaks to us through his Word, through prayer. We can find John the Baptist, in priests and their homilies, in speakers of meetings and programs which speak about Christian living. God even uses social media to send us his message, or else uses our friends, to give us words of hope. Yet ultimately, we are the ones who need to listen to this message and accept what we are hearing.

Today’s Gospel refers to repentance and forgiveness of sins. Repenting is not just being sorry for our sins. When we repent, we must change. We do not continue doing what is wrong. At times we find ourselves repeating the same list of sins during confession. It could very well be that confession is not accompanied by repentance, with a determination to sincerely try to stop repeating that sin.

A reading from the Gospel of Mark (Mk 1, 1-8)

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”

John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.

John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel story is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3. How and through whom, are you allowing God’s message to arrive to you?
  4. Repenting, is not just being sorry for your sins. It involves change. Before Christmas, go to confession, and think how, in concrete terms you are going to change, at least one of your weaknesses.
  5. As parents, God has entrusted you to be his messengers for your children. How are you undertaking this duty?
  6. Together with your family find the right time to read this gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare:

  7. i. The Bible reading from St Mark (13, 33-37);
    ii. The Advent Wreath, light the first purple candle
    iii. Cover the table with purple cloth
    iv. A computer/laptop with the reading and clips
  8. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested)
  9. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  10. Be creative 😊
  11. Go to the Prayer Spaces section to continue praying as a family

Have you ever been in the car with mummy and daddy and got lost, so that you had to stop and ask for help? Do you remember some instance when you were told to go back from where you came, and take another road, when you reached the crossroads? In today’s Gospel we will meet with John the Baptist. John was Jesus’ cousin. He was only slightly older than Jesus. His work was to talk to people and show them how they could live a good life. John was like that person who helped you and your parents find your way when you were lost. He showed the people that when they acted wrongly, they were moving along the wrong way, and that they would have chosen the road which did not lead to Jesus. He showed them what they had to do, to find the right way.

  • Jesus wishes that we stop doing what is wrong

  • Some means on which to play Gonna serve 
  • The picture of Jesus
  • Colours
The picture of JesusDownload

Jesus would really like us to be happy. He knows that when we do not obey, we will not be happy. So, he sends people to help us. He gave us parents and grandparents to show us what we should do, we also have teachers at school, catechists, and priests. As John the Baptist, all these people, tell us when we do something which is not right and show us what we should do instead. At times, for example, we get angry when some colouring is not coming right and we just tear the paper. When we do this, we are taking the wrong way, it is like choosing the way which will make us unhappy. Our parents and other people kindly help us and show us what to do instead of getting angry and impatient. They show us the way which leads us to happiness.


In today’s activity, mummy or daddy will be in charge of the music and they will give examples of things you can do. Close to the person leading the activity, place the picture of Jesus. The rest will look the other way (that is, they give the person leading, their back). The song Gonna serve is played.  At one time, the music is stopped and the person leading gives an example of good or bad behaviour (examples of good behaviour: listening to or reading Bible stories, praying, helping at home such as putting toys back in their place, helping to lay the table, playing fair, saying the truth, taking care of pets. Examples of bad behaviour may include lying, getting angry, damaging your brother’s or sister’s toys, hurting your pets, fighting). If the example given is of good behaviour, everyone turns around to face Jesus, if it is not good behaviour, do not turn around. It could be turned into a game, the winner being the one, who got the most right, that is, turning when he should, and remaining in place when bad examples where given. The aim of this activity/game is to show that when we do the right thing, it is like choosing the way which leads to Jesus, and in this way, we will be happy. When we choose act wrongly, we would not be walking towards Jesus. Afterwards, the children may colour the picture of Jesus.

Sign of the cross.

Dear Jesus, we want to be always happy. Help us to listen to those who love us and do what they ask us to do. Help mummy and daddy, our grandparents, and teachers, so that they continue talking to us about you. Thank you, Jesus.

In today’s Gospel we will learn about John the Baptist. John was Jesus’ cousin. He used to teach and prepare the people for the time they would meet with Jesus. We may think that John was rather strange! He lived on his own, he dressed very differently from the rest and he ate what he found in the desert. He told the people that they had to stop doing what was wrong and start to obey God. When the people were sorry for what they did wrong, they went into the Jordan river, and John baptised them. This way they showed that they were ready to change their way of life.

  • Jesus us wants us to notice when we do something wrong
  • Jesus wants us to be sorry for choosing to do wrong
  • Jesus wants us to try not to repeat the same wrong things

  • A bag with something heavy in it (it should be heavy enough for the children, but not too heavy that it may harm them, once they lift the bag)
  • The picture of the heart
  • Pencil
The picture of the heartDownload

Activity

In today’s Gospel, John says that we must repent. You know that to go for confession, there are five steps that we have to follow. The first is that we think about what we did that was wrong, we reflect upon our sins. Secondly, we repent. Repenting does not mean that we are only sorry for what we did wrong. It also means that we will try our best not to repeat the same sins. So, if for example, I say some words which hurt my friend, I have to be sorry for what I said, but I must also take care, that when I am tempted to say to him words which may hurt him, I keep them back and say nothing. 

You know that when we do something wrong, at first, we may feel good about it. However, when we think about what we did, we will realise that we did something which was wrong and feel sad. Jesus knows this. He knows that when we realise what we did wrongly and we say that we are sorry for it, afterwards we will feel better. Jesus gave us the sacrament of reconciliation. We go to confession when we do things which are wrong, and our sins are forgiven. After confession we feel much better. When we are sorry for our wrong doings, it does not mean that we are weak. It is true that at times it is difficult to say that we are sorry; yet after expressing our sadness for what we did, we realise not only that are we not weak, but that in fact we were strong enough to find the courage to try and set aright what we had done wrongly. 

Today, we have two activities. In the first one, we will see what it feels like to say that we are sorry. There is a bag. You are going to lift it up on your head and walk across the room. Mummy or daddy are going to stay on that side. When you arrive near them, put down the bag and say: “I am sorry for (and mention something which you did wrong)”. When we are sorry and go to confession, we will be removing that which is weighing us down and which is not allowing us to be happy. 

For the second activity, you need the picture of the heart. The heart is divided into four parts. You know that we are during Advent. It is a time when we are preparing for Christmas. The best way to prepare for Christmas is by making the right choices. This way, we will be preparing our hearts to receive Jesus within them. On the picture of the heart, write down the good choices you make at home, at school, in church and when you are with your friends.

Sign of the cross.

Say the Act of Contrition.

Listen to, Make that change when we change and become better, we will resemble Jesus more, It is not enough to say that we believe in Jesus, to say that we have faith. We need to show this by doing what Jesus wants. 

1. In today's Gospel, John the Bapist is described as...

Correct! Wrong!

2. How is the baptism administered by John, described in today's Gospel?

Correct! Wrong!

3. How is the river in which John administered baptism, called?

Correct! Wrong!

4. According to John, the one who is coming after him, the Messiah, will baptise with...

Correct! Wrong!

Correct! Wrong!

How to use this space

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.