Second Sunday of Advent
Mt 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
It’s Not Christmas Yet
“You brood of vipers!” Now that’s an insult! But, wait, isn’t Advent just our way of saying Christmas is almost here? Where’s the joy? Where’re the lights and the tree and Frosty singing It Came Upon a Midnight Clear? Maybe John the Baptist didn’t get the message. Or, just maybe, we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. Our Gospel reminds us that while Advent is a time of anticipation, it is also a time of repentance. We are called to examine ourselves during this season and prepare ourselves interiorly to receive the Word made flesh. Christmas is coming, rest assured, but we’re not there yet. How am I preparing myself during this season to receive Christ in a new way at Christmas? Is there a spiritual practice that I could add to my routine that might help me to deepen my reflection during Advent?
—Fr. Louis Hotop, SJ, serves in ministry to migrants in the Brownsville (Texas) Diocese on the U.S.-Mexico border. He is a member of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province.
Prayer
Dear Lord, I want to stay present to you in this season of Advent. Give me the strength to stay faithful to reflection and prayer, and, as we draw closer to the coming of your light into the world, help me to prune away all that is holding me back from fully embracing you, so that together we may bear fruit that will last. Amen.
—Fr. Louie Hotop, SJ