2nd Sunday of Advent A

Second Sunday of Advent

1. Matthew described John the Baptist by applying to him a passage from Isaiah: the
voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord
Originally this sentence was used by 2nd Isaiah (40:3). The prophet, who was exiled in Babylon,
had just witnessed the defeat of the Babylonians by the Persians. The king of Persia had issued a
decree allowing the Jews, and all the people who had been held in exile by the Babylonians to
return to their homelands
So Isaiah envisioned the Lord leading his people back to the land of Israel in a triumphant
procession: no obstacles would stand in their way: the mountains would be flattened and the
valleys filled. The journey back would be a piece of cake. The voice crying out was an invitation
to the wilderness to transform itself to make way for the Israelites: their God was with them and
he was going to bring them home.
We all have favorite quotes, or poems, or songs that we feel were composed just for us, because
they fit our situation so well. Of course they were not meant specifically for us, but it doesnt
matter because they touch us deeply. Matthew found that these words from Isaiah described
perfectly the mission of John the Baptist, so he borrowed them, reshaped them, and used them in
his Gospel.

2. Todays passage from letter to the Romans give us a glimpse of how Paul viewed the
Bible. For Paul Gods message is not limited to a specific situation. It is meant for all
time and all people: to inspire, educate, give courage and hope.
Elsewhere in the Gospel, Jesus said that Gods word is like a seed that falls in the ground,
germinates, grows into wheat, and bears fruit.
So the words of Isaiah and of John the Baptist, even though spoken and written a long time ago,
are also meant for us today: to inspire us and educate us, to give us courage and hope
You know that one of my hot buttons is that we need to read the Bible in its proper historical and
cultural context. However, the beauty of the Bible is that is not merely an historical document
written to influence the original audience, but it is a live document, the constant message that
God sends to every generation to inspire people to change their lives.

Second Sunday of Advent

3. The Gospel of Matthew today introduces John the Baptist, the man who was
sent to prepared the way for Jesus
In the Old Testament, John would have been considered a prophet, someone sent by
God to deliver a message to the leaders and to the people of Israel
Prophets were controversial figures. They were anti-establishment, social and cultural critics who
delivered 2 messages: avoid idolatry (in times when the worship of other Gods was still practiced
in Israel) and practice social justice (against the wealthy families who exploited the poor to enrich
themselves.)
Like the prophets of old John delivered a fiery message demanding that people return to God and
stop exploiting the poor, and dressed in a primitive outfit of animal pelts.

Given John the Baptists manner of dress and his message. Some Biblical scholars
think that John might have been an Essene, or someone influenced by the Essenes
The Essenes were a group of people who were disenchanted by how Judaism had become
corrupted by Greco-Roman culture. So the Essenes rejected civilization, dropped out of society,
and moved to the desert, where they lived in communities devoted to prayer, study of the Bible,
and perfect obedience to the Law of Moses. They awaited the arrival of a Messiah who would
purge the Holy Land from from sin and from corruption, and, above all, from all foreign influences.
Like John, they lived on whatever meager food they could find in the desert.

We dont know for sure if John was an Essene. He looked like them and spoke like
them. However, at some point he was inspired by God to leave the desert, return to
civilization, seek contact with people along the river Jordan, and deliver a message of
repentance
Johns message was that God was about to intervene in human history, and send his
Messiah, so the people should get ready for him.
In other words, John was announcing that Jesus who was both man and God- was about to start
his public ministry. Johns job was to make sure that people would recognize Jesus and listed to his
words. He told people to repent to get ready for God..

Second Sunday of Advent

4. What did John mean by repentance?
He meant: what you are doing is wrong. You are moving in the wrong direction. So: stop, think, turn
around and make the appropriate changes to your value system and to your life.
John was particularly harsh on the leadership of the Jews. The Pharisees were the intellectual elite of the
country, and the Sadducees were the political and economic elite. They made the rules for everyone else.
The Pharisees were famous for using with their knowledge of the laws to secure a position of privilege for
themselves and take advantage of poor and simple people. The Sadducees were wealthy families who
were Jews in name only, but adopted the life style of pagans. They owned most of the land and of the
economic resources and they had reduced the majority of the population to the status of day laborers.
John called them snakes, and told them not to count on being loved by God just because they were
children of Abraham. He warned them that in the eyes of God, they were nothing more than fruit-trees
that were not bearing fruit: they were about to be cut down and used as firewood.
John told everyone to live by the spirit of the law, not merely by the letter of the law.

5. What does Johns message of repentance mean for us today?

Let us begin by admitting that we are all sinners, no one here is perfect. Jesus ordered us to love God and
love our neighbors, but we are not very good at it
In these weeks before Christmas, as we are bombarded by commercials urging us to buy all sorts of
material goods, lets ask ourselves: what do we value most in our life? Whats most important for us? Is it
wealth, success, popularity, money, career, material things..? Is it is something other that God? If so,
then we are worshiping other gods. We are still idolaters, pagans. It is time to repent.
I know that there arent that many people here who have the power to manipulate the economy and
exploit the poor. But selfishness and lack of concern for others is not limited to the rich. Johns message
is a reminder to all of us that there are still many brothers and sisters in need and that we are to love
them and take care of them as we love and care for ourselves.
John baptized people in the river Jordan as a symbol that they should cleanse themselves of their sins. We
had a baptism last Sunday. Every time we baptized a new person we renew our Baptismal Covenant that
commits us to love God and to love our neighbors.
Johns message of repentance to each of us is a reminder of our duty to keep our covenant with God.