Reading 1 Is 40:1-5, 9-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14
R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Reading 2 2 Pt 3:8-14
Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,”
but he is patient with you,
not wishing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.
Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,
what sort of persons ought you to be,
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
Gospel 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.”
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
The Loving Programmer has commanded that we who believe give comfort to those who believe in Him. He tells us to inform the Jewish Establishment that their job is done. The wrong they have done is erased because those within it who should be punished have been. In fact, they have been given a double punishment for their sins.
The prophesy is clear, a voice from the desert announces that The Program has taken perfect, obedient, human form and, from uninhabited wasteland has prepared a way for Him. Every towering ego will be brought low; every humble person shall be raised. When that spiritual equality has been brought to earth, different abilities among the human programs will be equalized, each will become his or her programmed part of the Body of Christ. Then, the wonders of His Program shall be made apparent, and all the (truly chosen) people will see it, for it is His Program.
Go to The Program, chosen people, and cry out the good news as loudly as you can, good news has been brought by the Jewish Establishment (though they didn’t understand what they were doing by transcribing so faithfully the words of the prophets). Don’t be afraid to tell the Jews that Jesus Christ is, in fact, God in The Flesh. He is their God, coming with (an unanticipated) power. He rules by the power of His Incorruptible Program, and brings His reward (of eternal joy).
Like a shepherd, He takes care of those who believe in and obey Him. He gathers His chosen in His arms, holding them close to His heart, and encouraging them to be fruitful and multiply.
R. Loving Programmer, let us understand Your kindness and grant that we may be saved.
I will hear what The Loving Programmer has said, He Who proclaims peace to those who believe in and obey Him. His salvation is near to those with enough sense to fear Him, gloriously dwelling in the land of the chosen.
R. Loving Programmer, let us understand Your kindness and grant that we may be saved.
Kindness and truth will be one, as will justice and peace. Truth shall spring out of what He has programmed and downloaded, justice will look down from Programming HQ.
R. Loving Programmer, let us understand Your kindness and grant that we may be saved.
The Loving Programmer will personally download His benefits to us. Our land will prosper. His Program will show Him to us, and make us ready to download His truth.
R. Loving Programmer, let us understand Your kindness that we may be saved.
Don’t ignore one important fact, you whom He loves:, The Loving Programmer can program and download in one day what we might think would take a thousand years.
So, don’t expect immediate answers. The Loving Programmer is patient with us. He doesn’t want us to be erased, but for all of us to realize that we have sinned and seek forgiveness.
When He comes to judge our souls, we won’t be expecting it. He, like a thief breaking into a house, will come when He is not expected.
Then, the programmed entities will be erased with a roar. The programmed entities at the heart of all reality, particles that make the atoms, will be dissolved by destroying heat. Every thought, word, and deed will be analyzed and judged.
Since everything is to be erased, think how you should be and act. Understand that the saved will be those who obeyed, and acted in holiness and devotion, waiting (not straying) until Judgment, at which the programmed entities will be erased.
But, as He has promised, He will download a new Heaven, and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you (have enough sense to) wait for this erasure and New Download, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before Him. Be at peace (with this understanding and behavior).
The Loving Programmer made it clear to the prophets, in this case, Isaiah, what He had written and would download:
“Behold, before I download The Program in perfect, obedient, human form, I am sending someone to announce His coming.
Someone will come out of the desert, and say, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord (in your hearts and minds).’
John the Baptist brought the message of how The Program would be downloaded in the person of Jesus Christ, and proclaimed that those who repented would be able to accept that Download.
He made so much sense that people from Judea, and everyone in Jerusalem, went out to him, and were so sorrowful for their sins that they admitted to them, and publicly had them washed away by him in the Jordan.
John was not richly dressed. He wore clothing made from the hair of camels, and ate locusts and wild honey. This is what he told them:
“One with far more power is coming after me. I am not worthy to bow and loosen the thongs of His sandals. I have washed away your sins with water. He will erase them, utterly and completely, by having The Holy Wireless Connector join you directly with Him and with The Loving Programmer of all.”
