First Reading - Isaiah 11:1-10
Second Reading - Romans 15:4-9
Gospel - Matthew 3:1-12
The First Reading, taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, is a Messianic prophesy. It is the third oracle of Isiah given as a prediction of the first coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Isaiah prophecies how God will raise up a Messianic King centuries after King David’s throne has been overthrown and vacant for centuries because David’s successors have not been loyal to their God. “Behold a virgin will conceive and bear a son and shall call him, Emmanuel, for God is with us.” Through this oracle of Isiah, God promises that He will raise up a new king from the stump of Jesse, the father of King David (Is 11:1). According to Isaiah’s prophecy this future Messianic King will rule forever because the Spirit of God will rest upon him and remain with him (Is 11:2), and that he will be equipped with the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit of God– wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (Is 11:2). Isaiah foresees that this king will establish the kingdom of God, not by force of human will and military power, but by offering his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. Through his death on the cross, Jesus, the true Messianic King, will defeat Satan, overcome death, win pardon and reconciliation for sinners, and make us citizens of heaven and adopted children of God. The reading also portrays this Messianic Kingdom as a return to the perfect harmony of Paradise. The Spirit will enable men to create a world in which “the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, and a leopard shall lie down with the young goat.” These prophecies are fulfilled, in an anticipatory way, with the first advent of the Messiah and the spread of the Christian Faith, and they will be definitively fulfilled with the Second Advent and the appearance of the eternal order following the final Judgment made by Jesus our King.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, calls for reconciliation among the different factions in that community. Paul reminds his Roman readers that those who wait together for the many comings of our God should ignore their differences and sustain one another in mutual support and acceptance. It recommends patience, and this is the season of patient waiting for the Lord to come. It also contains a very seasonal statement about why the Lord came — to fulfill God’s promise to the Jews and to extend mercy to the Gentiles. Paul reminds the newly converted Roman Christians, many of whom are Jews, that the Sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament are still a source of instruction, encouragement, and hope. The sacred Scriptures are useless unless they are employed to control the Christian’s relations with God and with others (Rom 15:4-9). Hence, Paul advises the Judeo-Christians and Gentile Christians of Rome to “live in harmony with one another according to the Spirit of Christ Jesus,” by being less judgmental and more understanding and benevolent. Paul also reminds the Romans that Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise to the Jews and to extend mercy to the Gentiles. Hence, he encourages the Roman Christians to “accept one another” as Jesus Christ has accepted them. This reading reminds us to wait patiently for the coming of the Lord during this Advent season and shows us how to live as we do so.
The gospel presents the figure of John the Baptist who appears before God in order to prepare for him. John’s message was not soothing. It cut into the very hearts of men. John denounced evil wherever he found it. He accused Herod of living a loose moral life (14:4), addressed the Scribes and the Pharisees as a “brood of vipers” and summoned people to righteousness. His message was “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near” (v. 2), words which Jesus later would use to begin his own preaching (4:17), and similar to those the disciples would proclaim (10:7). John justified his call to repentance by announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven was near and that the way to prepare for that day was to repent. Literally, the Greek word for repentance (teshuvá in Hebrew and metánoia in Greek), means, “to change one’s mind and heart,” a change of direction or a U-turn. Repentance involves turning around – facing in a new direction — with a change of heart and a new commitment. Repentance is a daily experience that renews our Baptism. “The repentant person comes before God saying, ‘I can’t do it myself, God. Kill me and give me new life. You buried me in Baptism. Bury me again today. Raise me to a new life.'” Repentance for us is not a one-time action but must take place daily, because preparing for the Lord is a daily task for us who are living our lives in flesh and time on this earth.
Dear friends, advent is the time for us to make this preparation by repenting of our sins, and renewing our lives through prayer, penance, and sharing our blessings with others. Let us accept the challenge of the German mystic Angelus Silesius “Christ could be born a thousand times in Bethlehem – but all in vain until He is born in me.” He means that Jesus must be reborn in our heart, during this season of Advent and every day of our lives, bringing us love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and the spirit of humble service.
John the Baptist, the stern and uncompromising preacher, challenges our superficial attempts at change, demanding that we take a deeper look. Obeying the commandments is a good start, but we must also examine our relationships with others. We must mend ruptures and soothe frictions, face family responsibilities, work honestly, and treat our employers and employees justly. Start where you are, John says. Our domestic and social lives must be put in order. John’s voice is sober and runs counter to the intoxicating voices around us today. He calls for rectitude and social consciousness. We must abandon our selfish thirst for consumption and, instead, be filled with the expectation of Jesus’ coming. Therefore, following John’s advice, let us celebrate the memory of this first advent, prepare for Jesus’ new advent in our lives, and wait for his second advent at the end of the world.
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