Advent Gospels The season of Advent begins next week. On the four Sundays of Advent, the Catholic lectionary presents a series of Gospel readings that prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ. The Sunday Advent readings all rotate on a three-year cycle, but they always follow the same pattern. This Advent, we begin reading from the Gospel of Mark. The Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent always tells of the reign of Christ at the end of time. It echoes the theme of this Sunday, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. Advent starts with the message that we await the second coming of Christ. This entire season is not just a reminder of a past birth but an anticipation of future glory. The Second and Third Sundays of Advent always have Gospel readings about John the Baptist. John proclaims the nearness of the kingdom of God and serves as the prophet who bridges the Old and New Testaments. John foreshadows Jesus in his birth, his preaching, and his death. John’s message on these two middle Sundays of this season inspires us to follow Christ. The Fourth Sunday of Advent always tells part of the story that just precedes the birth of Christ. These familiar episodes set the stage for the story of Christmas. The Gospel readings of the four Sundays of Advent come to us in reverse chronology. We start with the end of time. We continue to the period when Jesus was an adult. We end in the days before his birth. Like a funnel, Advent opens with a giant theme, the grandness of Christ the King, and it ends with a humble and poor child lying in a Bethlehem manger.
Advent Gospels
The season of Advent begins next week. On the four Sundays of Advent, the Catholic lectionary presents a series of Gospel readings that prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ. The Sunday Advent readings all rotate on a three-year cycle, but they always follow the same pattern. This Advent, we begin reading from the Gospel of Mark.
The Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent always tells of the reign of Christ at the end of time. It echoes the theme of this Sunday, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. Advent starts with the message that we await the second coming of Christ. This entire season is not just a reminder of a past birth but an anticipation of future glory.
The Second and Third Sundays of Advent always have Gospel readings about John the Baptist. John proclaims the nearness of the kingdom of God and serves as the prophet who bridges the Old and New Testaments. John foreshadows Jesus in his birth, his preaching, and his death. John’s message on these two middle Sundays of this season inspires us to follow Christ. The Fourth Sunday of Advent always tells part of the story that just precedes the birth of Christ. These familiar episodes set the stage for the story of Christmas.
The Gospel readings of the four Sundays of Advent come to us in reverse chronology. We start with the end of time. We continue to the period when Jesus was an adult. We end in the days before his birth. Like a funnel, Advent opens with a giant theme, the grandness of Christ the King, and it ends with a humble and poor child lying in a Bethlehem manger.