Prepare the Way for the Lord - 2nd Sunday of Advent

2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT: GOSPEL

Matthew 3: 1-12

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’”.

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Gospel Reflection

by Simeon Elderfield

John the Baptist is one of the more interesting characters in the Gospels, appearing in all of them. Only in Luke is John’s early life discussed, and greater detail surrounding John’s baptism of Jesus is found in the Synoptic Gospels than John’s Gospel. Flavius Josephus, writing contemporaneously, describes John’s actions, saying he ‘was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness.’

From a Catholic perspective, it is clear that John was a prophet, indeed, the last of the Prophets and his message could not be any blunter. At this point, Jesus’ adult ministry has barely begun and John’s mission is to prepare the people of Judea for what they are about to witness. In today’s Gospel John is sarcastic: when the Pharisees and Sadducees approached, his words are dripping with irony, ‘Brood of vipers, who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming?’. But his sarcasm doesn’t obscure his message about what true repentance is. He also brooks no arrogance, pointing out the irony in their beliefs; ‘if you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruit, and do not presume to tell yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father,” because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones.’

As a person, John exudes self-awareness of his state, preaching from a place of authority as prophet but profoundly humble in his comparison with Jesus as he says, ‘the one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’ Out of all the people blessed with the foreknowledge of Jesus’ work, John the Baptist shows us best how we can approach our faith in the confidence of God’s plan. For death, where is thy sting? The answer is that it’s lost in the knowledge of our logos.

In the end, John died for his faith. Herod took his head, but not his spirit and in his violent death, he continued to be that most exemplary counterpart to the life of Christ. Pope Benedict XVI describes John as ‘the prophet who concludes the Old Testament and inaugurates the New, by identifying Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, the Anointed One of the Lord.’ The great saint, Augustine of Hippo, characterizes the complementary natures of John and Jesus by saying ‘John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning, Christ is the Word who lives forever.’ Without the word, the voice is meaningless. Without the voice, the word cannot be spoken.

Perhaps this is what we might take from John’s example? That we are called to be the present voice for the living word of God. In our words and deeds, we can give voice to the truth that we have been privileged to have revealed to us. The cost of being the voice may be high, but through our proclaiming of the word, we will change the world. Our voices may only last for a time, but the truth we have been given to share will last for eternity. I invite you to ask yourself what truth God has given you to share? Undoubtedly, we all possess the faculties to do so, otherwise, it would not have been given to us. Use them to the fullest! If you don’t know how to find others who can guide you. But be confident that when we surrender our voice to proclaiming God’s word, we do his work.