December
7, 2025
Second Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 4
Reading
1
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 neighbors,
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
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 flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
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. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
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. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
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. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Reading
2
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
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
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."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120725.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12
Last Sunday’s
readings focused on the final goal and meaning of our lives. It is
the reason for the coming of Christ among us. Today we begin to look more
directly at the coming of God’s Son in our midst as a preparation for that
final coming. The central figure in today’s Gospel is John the Baptist.
But first, we need
to look at the powerful passage from Isaiah in the First Reading that is in two
parts.
The first is a
picture of the perfect King. He is a descendant of Jesse, who was the
father of King David, and clearly points to Jesus. He is full of the
Spirit of God and enjoys the special gifts of the Spirit:
…spirit of
wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear [reverence] of the Lord.
When Jesus is
baptised we will see that Spirit coming down on him in all its fullness.
The second part is
a picture of the age this King will inaugurate. It is a regime of justice
and peace, free from danger or fear. This is the ultimate goal of the
Reign of God, a goal we have not yet realised, but which, with the help of our
King, we have great hope of reaching.
We read this, of
course, in today’s Mass in the context of Advent and Christmas. There is a
real challenge for us to identify with this programme in word and action.
Strange as it may seem, God expects our co-operation in carrying it out.
A true prophet
But now on to John the Baptist—he was a great figure in his own right and a
true prophet in the Jewish tradition with a message from God. We know he
had a large following of disciples and many people came out to the desert to
hear him speak. He performed a ritual in water by which people expressed sorrow
for their sinful lives and turned back to God. That ritual was called baptism.
In some ways the
role of John was not unlike that of Jesus. Yet, in other ways, it was very
different. Like Jesus, John preached a message of repentance. ‘Repentance’
here, as elsewhere in the New Testament, translates from the Greek word metanoia. It
is much more than just being sorry for the past. It involves a deep and
radical change in one’s thinking and behaviour. ‘Radical conversion’ would
be a better rendering than ‘repentance’, which somehow implies simply going
back to one’s past, but without the sin.
Like Jesus, John
will be rejected, persecuted, ‘handed over’ and finally executed for his
courageous defence of truth and justice. But there are also clear differences
between John and Jesus. This was not least in their lifestyles.
John lived a severely ascetical life as a hermit in the desert. People
came out to him, he did not go to them. Jesus, on the other hand, is seen
as a socialiser living mainly in cities and towns. He goes out of his way
to mix with all kinds: rich and poor, religious and secular, good and
bad. Nor does he hesitate to enjoy the hospitality of their houses.
Yet through it all, Jesus enjoys a high level of personal freedom—at home with
all, but manipulated by none. He is totally in contact with the world,
but not tainted or influenced by its weaknesses.
Not equals
John emphasises that Jesus outranks him completely. John says:
I am not worthy
to untie the strap of his sandals. (Luke
3:16)
He is simply
preparing the way for the Messiah, the Christ, the Saviour King. Jesus,
on the other hand, is the Way.
John’s baptism was
an individual expression of a desire to come back from sin to God, to return to
a faithful following of the Law. On the other hand, the baptism of Jesus
comes with the “Holy Spirit and fire”. It inaugurates a special
relationship with Jesus, through which the baptised person becomes incorporated
into the very Body of Christ—becomes, as it were, a very extension of Christ
himself. It involves not just personal reformation, but becoming involved
in the remaking of the whole world, bringing the whole world into the Reign of
God.
Two kinds of people
Two kinds of people were coming out to see John. There were ordinary
people, genuine penitents, looking for reconciliation with God. There
were also Pharisees and Sadducees. However, these came out, not to
express sorrow for sin, but to test John’s orthodoxy and observance of the Law.
John has little
time for them. He sees them just as much in need of repentance and
conversion as anyone else. They are not to think that simply because they
are descendants of Abraham, their salvation is assured. It is not birth,
race, religious affiliation, education, social status, or financial clout that
makes us friends of God, but our awareness of our total dependence on him for
everything we need. Salvation only comes to those who give themselves
totally into God’s hands and make his will their own. No one is saved
simply by being born a Law-abiding Jew, as the Pharisees seemed to think, any
more than being baptised into the Christian Church alone brings salvation—much
more is expected. Jesus later on will say that those who presume they are
God’s people, but without the actions to prove it, will have to give way:
Truly I tell
you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God
ahead of you. (Matt
21:31)
Matthew is not
just lashing out at some Jewish leaders. The words of John today are
primarily directed to us—to the Pharisee and Sadducee in each one of us.
Our most dangerous enemy is complacency. We think: “I’m a good enough
Catholic. I’m not perfect, of course, I’m not a religious fanatic, but I
keep the basics of my religion. I’m OK.” Where our relationships
with God are concerned, to stay in the same place is to go backwards.
More than
history
If we have such a casual attitude to the demands of our faith, we may look on
Advent and Christmas as merely memories of past historical events. But
Advent means “coming” and, if this season is to be meaningful, there has to be
a genuine coming of Jesus into our lives both as individuals and as
community. It is a time to remind ourselves of our constant need for metanoia.
If John the
Baptist were to come among us today, what would he tell us? What would he
warn us against? As we come to the end of another calendar year (and at
the beginning of this new Church year) where do we need conversion and change
in our lives? How can we and our families give better witness to the
Christian message? What changes are called for in the way our parish
gives corporate witness to the gospel? The celebration of Advent calls
for a serious consideration of these questions.
We are probably
well into preparations for the celebration of Christmas. But what
preparations have I made for the time afterwards, for the year that is
ahead? Will Jesus be really part of my life? Will he really be
entering my life in a special way at this time? Are his concerns my
concerns? That is, do I have a desire to be of service to others and to work
with others to build a better society, founded on love and justice and an
equitable sharing of resources? “Peace (and justice) on earth to those who are
God’s friends” needs to become not just the song of the angels, but a programme
for me and my community.
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Sunday,
December 7, 2025
Second
Sunday of Advent
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit that I may learn to be
small like Zaccheus, small in moral stature, but also grant me strength to lift
myself a little from the earth, urged by the desire to see You passing during
this time of Advent, to know You and to know that You are there for me. Lord
Jesus, good master, by the power of Your Spirit, arouse in our hearts the desire
to understand Your Word that reveals the saving love of the Father.
Gospel Text – Matthew 3: 1-12
1 In due course John the Baptist
appeared; he proclaimed this message in the desert of Judaea, 2 'Repent, for
the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.' 3 This was the man spoken of by the
prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘A voice of one that cries in the desert, “Prepare
a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.”’ 4 This man John wore a garment
made of camel- hair with a leather loin-cloth round his waist, and his food was
locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan
district made their way to him, 6
and as they were baptized by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins.
7 But when he saw a number of
Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, 'Brood of vipers,
who warned you to flee from the coming retribution? 8 Produce fruit in keeping
with repentance, 9 and do not presume to tell yourselves, "We have Abraham
as our father," because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham
from these stones. 10 Even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees,
so that any tree failing to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on
the fire.
11 I baptize you in water for
repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I, and I am
not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. 12 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 in a fire that
will never go out.'
A Moment of Silent Prayer
Each one of us is full of
questions in our hearts for anyone who listens to us, but above all we need to
listen, knowing that it is Jesus who is speaking to us. Allow yourself to be
led to your interior self where the Word echoes in all its weight of truth and
love, in all its therapeutic and transforming power. Prayerful silence demands
that we remain “inside”, that we stand completely at the feet of the Lord and
use all our energy to listen to Him alone. Stop and listen.
To Understand the Word
The Manner in Which the Plot of the Passage
is Expressed:
In this Sunday of Advent we are
presented with the figure of John the Baptist, a challenging personality, as
Jesus once said about John the Baptist in describing his personality: “What did
you go out to see, a reed blowing in the wind?” (Mt 1: 7). The profile of the
Baptist that the liturgy puts before us is in two main sections: 3: 1-6, the
figure and activities of John; 3: 7-12, his preaching. Within these two
sections we may detect smaller matters that define the expression of this text.
In 3: 1-2 John is presented as the one who preaches «repentance» because “the
kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” This cry is like a thread running through
the whole of John’s activity and is repeated in 3: 8, 12. The reason for this
call to repentance is given as the imminent judgement of God which is compared
to the cutting of every dry tree to be thrown into the fire to be burnt (3: 10)
and to the winnowing done by farmers on the threshing-floor to separate the
wheat from the chaff which is also to be burnt in the fire (3: 12). The image
of fire which characterizes the last part of our liturgical passage shows the
urgency of preparing oneself for the coming of God’s judgement. The text
presents the following:
•
Matthew
3: 1-3: in this first small part «the voice crying in the desert» of Isaiah
40:2 is identified with the voice of the Baptist who invites all to repentance
«in the desert of Judea»;
•
Matthew
3: 4-6: there follows a brief section which, in a picturesque manner,
describes the traditional figure of John: he is a prophet and an ascetic;
because of his prophetic identity he is compared to Elijah; indeed he dresses
like the Tishbite prophet. A geographical and special detail describes the
movement of many people who come to receive the baptism of immersion in the
waters of the Jordan, in a penitential atmosphere. The influence of his
prophetic activity is not limited to one place but embraces the whole region of
Judea including Jerusalem and the area around the Jordan.
•
Matthew
3: 7-10 -- A special group of people comes to John to receive baptism,
these are the “Pharisees and Sadducees.” John addresses them with harsh words
that they may stop their false religiosity and pay attention to «bearing fruit»
so that they may avoid a judgement of condemnation.
•
Matthew
3: 11-12 -- Here the meaning of the baptism in relation to repentance is
made clear and especially the difference between the two baptisms and the two
protagonists: the baptism of John is with water for repentance; the baptism of
Jesus “the more powerful who comes after” John, is with the Spirit and fire. The Message of the Text:
In a typical biblical-narrative
style, Matthew presents the figure and activity of John the Baptist in the
desert of Judea. The geographical indication is meant to situate the activity
of John in the region of Judea, whereas Jesus will carry out his activity in
Galilee. For Matthew, the activity of John is entirely oriented towards and
subject to “the one who is to come,” the person of Jesus. Also John is
presented as a great and courageous preacher who foretells the imminent
judgement of God.
The message of the Baptist consists of a
precise imperative, “repent” and an equally clear reason: “for the kingdom of
heaven is close at hand.” Repentance is foremost in the Baptist’s preaching
even though at first its content is not yet clear. In 3:8, however, the fruits
of repentance are revealed to give new direction to one’s existence. Such a
revelation, on the one hand, is typical of prophets who wanted to make
repentance as concrete as possible through a radical detachment from whatever
until now was held as valuable; on the other hand, the revelation goes beyond
and means to show that repentance is a turning towards “the kingdom of heaven”,
towards something new which is imminent, together with its demands and
prospects. It is a matter of giving a decisive turn to life in a new direction:
the “kingdom of heaven” is the foundation and gives meaning to repentance and
not just any human efforts. The expression
“kingdom of heaven” says that God will reveal Himself to all
and most powerfully.
John says that this revelation of God is imminent, not
distant.
The prophetic activity of John, with the
characteristics of the figure of Elijah, is meant to prepare his contemporaries
for the coming of God in Jesus. The motifs and images through which the figure
of the Baptist is interpreted are interesting, among them the leather
loin-cloth around his waist, sign of recognition of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings
1: 8); the garment made of camel hair
is typical of the prophet according to
Zacharias 13: 4. This is a direct identification between the prophet Elijah and
John. This interpretation is obviously an answer of the Evangelist to the
objection of the Jews of the time: how can Jesus be the Messiah, if Elijah has
not yet come?
Through his prophetic activity,
John succeeds in moving whole crowds just as Elijah had led back the whole
people to faith in God (1 Kings 18). John’s baptism is not important because of
the great crowds that come to receive it, but because it is accompanied by
precise commitments of repentance. Besides, it is not a baptism that has the
power to forgive sins. Only the death of Jesus has this power. However, it
presents a new direction to give to one’s life. Even the «Pharisees and
Sadducees» come to receive it, but they come in a hypocritical spirit, with no
intention of repenting. Thus they will not be able to flee God’s judgement.
John’s invective towards these groups, covered in false religiosity, emphasizes
that the role of his baptism, if received sincerely with the decision to change
one’s life, protects whoever receives it from the imminent purifying judgement
of God.
How will such a decision of
repentance become evident? John does not give precise indications as to
content, but limits himself to showing the motive: to avoid the punitive judgement
of God. We could say that the aim of repentance is God, the radical recognition
of God, directing in an entirely new way one’s life to God.
Yet the «Pharisees and
Sadducees» are not open to repentance in so far as they place their faith and
hope in being descendants of Abraham: because they belong to the chosen people,
they are certain that God, by the merits of the father, will give them
salvation. John questions this false certainty of theirs by means of two
images: the tree and the fire.
First, the image of the tree that is
felled: in the OT this refers to God’s judgement. A text from Isaiah describes
it thus: «Behold the Lord, God of hosts, who tears the branches with deafening
noise, the highest tips are cut off, the peaks are felled». The image of the
fire has the function of expressing the “imminent anger” which will be
manifested at God’s judgement (3: 7). In a word, they show the pressing
imminence of God’s coming; the listeners must open their eyes to what awaits
them.
Finally, John’s preaching
contrasts the two baptisms and the two persons: John and the one who is to
come. The substantial difference is that Jesus baptizes with the Spirit and
fire whereas John only with water, a baptism for repentance. This distinction
emphasizes that the baptism of John is entirely subordinate to the baptism of
Jesus. Matthew notes that the baptism with the Spirit has already taken place,
namely in Christian baptism, as told in the scene of Jesus’ baptism, whereas
baptism with fire must still come and will take place at the judgement that
Jesus will perform.
The aim of John’s preaching, then, is to
present a description of the judgement that awaits the community through the
image of the chaff. The action of the farmer on the threshing-floor when he
cleans the wheat from the chaff will also be the action of God on the community
at the judgement.
A Meditation
Expecting God and Repentance:
In his preaching John reminds us that
the coming of God in our lives is always imminent. He also invites us strongly to
a repentance that purifies the heart, renders it ready to meet Jesus who comes
into the world of men and women and opens it to hope and universal love.
An expression of St. John Henry Newman may help us understand
this new direction that the Word of God suggests is urgent: “Here on earth to
live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed frequently.” To change
is to be understood from the point of view of repentance: an intimate change of
heart. To live is to change. If ever this urge to change grows dim, you would
no longer be alive. The book of the Apocalypse confirms this when the Lord
says: “You are reputed to be alive yet are dead” (3: 1). Again, “to be perfect
is to change frequently.” It seems that St. John Henry Newman wanted to say:
«Time is measured by my repentance.” This time of Advent too is measured
through the project that God has for me. I must constantly open myself, be
ready to allow myself to be renewed by Him. Accepting the Gospel:
This is the condition for repentance. The Gospel is not only a
collection of messages, but a Person who asks to enter into your life.
Accepting the Gospel of this Sunday of Advent means opening the door of one’s
own life to the one whom John the Baptist defined as more powerful. This idea
was expressed well by John Paul II: “Open the doors to Christ…” Accept Christ
who comes to me with His firm word of salvation. We recall the words of St.
Augustine, who used to say, “I fear the Lord who passes by.” Such a passing by
of the Lord may find us at a time of life when we are distracted or
superficial. Advent – A time for
Interior Souls:
A mystical evocation found in the writings of Blessed
Elisabeth of the Trinity helps us discover repentance as a time and occasion to
immerse ourselves in God, to expose ourselves to the fire of love that
transforms and purifies our lives: «Here we are at the sacred time of Advent
which more than any other time we could call the time for interior souls, souls
who live always and in all things “hidden in God with Christ”, at the center of
themselves. While awaiting the great mystery [of Christmas]… let us ask Him to
make us true in our love, that is to transform us… it is good to think that the
life of a priest, like that of a Carmelite nun, is an advent that prepares the
incarnation within souls! David sings in a psalm that the “fire will walk ahead
of the Lord.” Is not love that fire? Is it not also our mission to prepare the
ways of the Lord by our union with the one whom the Apostle calls a “devouring
fire”? On contact with Him our souls will become like a flame of love that
spreads to all the members of the body of Christ that is the Church.” (Letter
to Rev. Priest Chevignard, in Writings, 387389).
Psalm 71 (72)
With this
psalm, the Church prays during Advent to express the expectation of her king of
peace, liberator of the poor and of the oppressed.
Rule your People with Justice
God, endow the king with Your own fair
judgement, the son of the king with Your own saving justice, that he may rule
Your people with justice, and Your poor with fair judgement. In his days
uprightness shall flourish, and peace in plenty till the moon is no more. His
empire shall stretch from sea to sea, from the river to the limits of the
earth. For he rescues the needy who call to him, and the poor who have no one
to help.
He has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the needy from
death.
May his name be blessed forever and endure in the sight of the
sun.
In him shall be blessed every race in the world, and all nations
call him blessed.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, led by the powerful and vigorous word of
John the Baptist, Your precursor, we wish to receive Your baptism of Spirit and
fire. You know how many fears, spiritual laziness and hypocrisies reside in our
hearts. We know that with Your fan, little wheat would be left in our lives and
much chaff, ready to be thrown into the unquenchable fire. From the bottom of
our hearts we pray, Come to us in the humility of Your incarnation, of Your
humanity full of our limitations and sins and grant us the baptism of immersion
into the abyss of Your humility. Grant us to be immersed into those waters of
the Jordan that gushed out of Your wounded side on the cross and grant that we
may recognize you as true Son of God, our true Savior. During this Advent take
us into the desert of nothingness, of repentance, of solitude so that we may
experience the love of Spring. May Your voice not remain in the desert but may
it echo in our hearts so that our voice, immersed, baptized in Your Presence
may become news of love. Amen.
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