Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 / 2 Peter 3:8-14 / Mark 1:1-8
When an important message or announcement is to be made, it goes without saying that the most effective media platforms are to be used.
So obviously, the common media platforms that will come to mind are the radio and TV, and also the newspapers, whether electronic or printed versions.
Other popular social media platforms will also be used, like SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
These media platforms are used so that the message or announcement will appear and be heard and read everywhere and by everyone.
So, going by secular standards, the message or announcement must be attractive and effective.
The content and the media are professionally crafted and selected.
And so also is the presenter. The presenter must also look smart and sharp, and better still if they are famous and popular celebrities.
These standards are not just for important messages and announcements. They are also applied to other areas like advertisements, notices, Etc.
When the Good News was first announced, it was done in an unlikely place, and by an unlikely person.
The Good News was announced and proclaimed in the wilderness, a place where hardly anyone will be there.
And Good News was also proclaimed by a strange and odd person, wearing strange and odd clothes, and having a strange and odd diet.
But it was in these strange and odd situations and circumstances, that God chose to have the Good News proclaimed.
And what is strange and odd was that people came to hear the Good News. They came from all over the country of Judah and Jerusalem, and they went to the wilderness to hear it.
And it was just a straight-forward message, without frills or thrills, a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins.
So, in short, that straight-forward message of repentance and forgiveness, was announced in a strange and odd place, and by a strange and odd person.
But somehow, that message brought about consolation and conversion for the people.
That same message is also announced in churches on this Second Sunday of Advent.
Coming to church is like going to the wilderness, where everything is simple and straightforward.
The Word of God is proclaimed without fanfare, the prayers are simple and humble.
Yet, God grants His blessings of comfort and consolation and conversion. And God also grants us His protection.
As the 1st reading puts it: God Is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs into his arms, holding them close to his breast, and leading the mother ewes to their rest.
And in many ways, God has protected this church, with its walls still standing, and the stained glass intact, since 1910.
Because there is an account in the history of the church, that in the afternoon of the 15th February 1942, a few Japanese mortar shells fired from Johor, hit the church roof, and brought down the ceiling, and exploded in the centre, creating a crater.
It was incredible, and we can be skeptical about that account.
But a senior parishioner verified this, and she said that on Sunday when the parishioners came for Mass, there was a big hole in the ceiling, and they had to walk around the edge of the crater.
That was amazing, truly amazing, but it bears witness that where the Good News of repentance and forgiveness of sin is proclaimed, God grants His protection.
And God also grants us, His beloved people, the lambs that He holds to His breast, comfort and consolation and conversion.
This is the wonderful Good News that is proclaimed in this simple and humble place.
Let us believe and share it with others.