2nd Sunday of Advent A
Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 71:1-2. 7-8. 12-13. 17 Rv.7 Romans 15:2-9
On him the Spirit of the Lord rests
In his days justice will flourish
Treat each other in the same friendly way as Christ treated you.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
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 timeJerusalem , all Judea,
and the whole region around theJordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in theJordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
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
and the whole region around the
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the
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.”
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.”
Become Christ in your home
Isaiah promises that God will send a ruler upon whom his Spirit will rest. Jesus has come but the world still lacks peace. During the cold war two thirds of mankind suffered and died of poverty while billions were daily spent on arms. The cold war is gone but greed and injustice flourish. There is no peace.
Where is the Ruler, springing from the root of Jesse, who will bring peace and justice? Jesus has come and gone, but he leaves behind followers in every generation. ‘What can I do?’ you may say. You can do little if anything on a global level, but who can? Leaders may have more power, but even the best are helpless to bring about radical change. Ultimately for the world to change we must change.
Each of us lives in our world where we have influence and can make a difference. For some that world is bigger, for others smaller. It is there, where each of us has to set to work. We have been baptized, as promised, with ‘the Spirit and with fire’. Are you on fire? Have you fanned into flame the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom and understanding, counsel and power, knowledge and fear of the Lord? The seeds of these gifts are in you. They need to grow and blossom.
Jesus will not come into our world and transform it. He is already there in you and me. We are to be living members of his Body. He has to be active through us in the world which we can transform. The place of greatest influence is our own life! Here we can bring about great change. With his grace I can change from reflecting the values of the world - greed, selfishness, envy, lust and discord and reflect the values of Christ - love, joy, peace, justice, generosity, purity and service to all.
You and I need to repent and we need to bear ‘the fruit that befits repentance’. Until we are serious about having the Spirit change us into Christ, let us not call ourselves Christians nor complain about the state of the world. We are part of its problem, not its solution.
This Advent we aren’t just looking forward to the coming of a baby in a crib. We look forward to a new world where the Lord rules. That world begins with you and me. Don’t presume to say ‘I am a Christian, a Catholic’ Are you ready to take up the challenge of Jesus: to be Christ and not just a Christian.
Father anoint us daily with the Spirit so that like Jesus we may do good and liberate those under the influence of Satan, for you will be with us.
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