Gospel: Matthew 3, 1 – 12.
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?
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‘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.”
Homily
I remember my days as a teenager going to secondary school and my parents exhorting me to study and to study hard. As with many teenagers their words fell on deaf ears and I suppose to them it was as if they were crying out in the desert with no one to hear them; prepare yourself for the future. I suppose that many parents have the same experience.
This must also have been the experience of John the Baptist. He could see the immorality around him beginning with Herod. He could see that the people were not prepared for the coming of the Messiah and so he calls the people to prepare themselves. He tells them, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” As with many prophetic figures, John soon draws a crowd who seek baptism as a sign of a change of life. Among the crowd are Pharisees and Sadducees, the Religious leaders of the Jews, whose attitudes are responsible for a great deal of the sinfulness which pervades the country. John warns them that their repentance must be sincere and they cannot depend on race or class. It must be something of the heart. “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.” John also warns them that true repentance will lead them to the acceptance of the One who will come after him and who is mightier than he is, Jesus Christ. “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.” For John the Baptist, it is very clear. Preparation for the coming of the messiah is first of all a change of life which flows into a conscious following of the “One who is to come”.
For us who live two thousand odd years after these fateful events and the coming of the messiah as a little baby in Bethlehem, John’s warning to the people and especially to the Pharisees and Sadducees still has relevance. St. Bernard tells us that there are three comings of the messiah. He came first of all in Bethlehem in weakness as a Baby. He will come again in majesty at the end of time to take this world and present it to the Father. Between these two comings there is a third when he comes to each one of us in a particular time and place. Advent reminds us of these three comings but urges us to be prepared for that third coming in which “the One who is to come” will make his appearance to each one of us in particular. As at the time of John the Baptist we cannot rest secure in our belonging to the Church or to some organization in the Church. Our preparation for the third coming of “The One who is to Come” can only be a change of life and a radical adherence to the person and message of Jesus, “the One who is to come” himself. This is how the saints, those who have gone before us prepared. We can do no less!
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God let this season of Advent 2010 be a special Advent season for all of us. May it remind us that just as you sent your Son Jesus to the world two thousand years ago, so your Son will come again to each one of us at a special time and in a particular place. Convince us of the need to prepare ourselves for this coming and please give us the grace to do it. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our mother who prepared for nine months for the birth of Jesus, and through the intercession of Jesus himself who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen
