Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
1. Baptized with the Spirit of Fire
2. Prepare the Way of the Lord
Introduction
1. Baptized with the Spirit of Fire
On this Second Sunday of Advent we are preparing for the fuller coming of Christ in our communities and in the world. We need to be people full of the Spirit of Christ. The Saviour was announced by Isaiah and John the Baptist as a man completely filled with God’s Spirit. He would baptize us with the Spirit of fire. John says to us: Let this Spirit of fire change your mentality, your attitudes, your ways, so that Jesus can really live among us to make this world a place of unity and integrity, of justice and peace. Let Jesus pour out this Spirit among us here.
2. Prepare the Way of the Lord
Has Jesus Christ come or is he still to come? For many he has not yet come, for most of the world does not follow him. Even among us, many do not live the way he taught us. The world he wanted us to build up is still a dream of the future, not the reality of the present. What are we going to do about it? We must change, and then our world will change. We ask the Lord Jesus in this Eucharist to prepare his deeper coming among us.
First Reading: A Saviour Filled with God’s Spirit
The great prophet Isaiah announces a Saviour who will transform the world and bring it God’s peace, because he is filled with the Spirit of God.
1 Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10
On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbours, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
R. (cf. 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment. R.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth. R.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save. R.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. R.
Second Reading: Follow Christ, Savior of All
The scriptures of the Old Testament kept alive the hope of God’s people. We share in the same hope and pray that this hope may extend to all.
2 Reading: Romans 15:4-9
Brothers and sisters:
Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing praises to your name.
Alleluia: Luke 3:4, 6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Change Your Ways, and the Lord Will Come!
John the Baptist came to prepare the Jews for the coming of the Saviour Jesus Christ. His message was, and still is for us today: Change your ways, be open to his Spirit.
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Commentary
We all want to have the roots of our identity, culture, and family well secured; but sometimes we feel uprooted, pulled up from our land and our home. In some cultures, a tree is planted when a child is born. It’s one of his inheritance as he grows and matures. Trees are a good symbol for that desire we all have within us to have roots and security.
Today’s readings present the image of the tree both as hope and as challenge. The challenge comes from John when he says that a tree must give good fruit or else be cut down and thrown into the fire. That image makes us think of hell; but we have to remember this is not a cruel and harsh threat from God, but a logical consequence of leading a life away from what is good. We might think of hell as a horrendous place where God punishes those who have done evil during their lives; and yet hell could well be described as the logical state of the decision to be apart from God; and that is a personal choice, not revenge from God.
On the other hand, we realize what we are being told is not so much that those who have done some evil will be condemned, but those who have not given good fruit; in other words, the responsibility is before us: we need to think of our own lives as opportunities to produce fruits of goodness. What might those fruits be? We don’t have to think of great feats or heroic deeds, but of the small daily actions that plant goodness: kindness, generosity, affection, care for the things we do, and quiet work not expecting any rewards; all this gives fruits of life for others, because we, as Christians, don’t live for ourselves but for others.
As we grow older, sometimes we wonder what we’ve done with our lives, if we have not earned lots of money, attained fame or prestige; but the real question should be: how many lives have we touched with our way of being and behaviour? How have we lived in integrity and truth? How have we worked with honesty? How great has our spirit of service been? As leaders, where do we lead people to? The answers to these questions will give us the measure of fruits that others will reap from our life, even if we don’t see it, or if no one, during our lifetime, acknowledges it. That is being with God and not withering.
Blessing (from Rom 15, the chapter of the Second Reading; 15:5; 15:13; 15:33)
May God, the source of all fortitude
and all encouragement make you capable
of living in perfect harmony with one another
according to the Spirit of Jesus Christ. R/ Amen.
May God, the source of hope,
fill you with all joy and peace,
until, by the power of the Holy Spirit,
you overflow with hope. R/ Amen.
May the God of peace be with you all. R/ Amen.
And may almighty God bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord
in the people around you. R/ Thanks be to God.