Second Sunday of Advent

“St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness”
by Hieronymus Bosch, 1495-1500 

Readings for the Second Sunday of Advent[1][2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: Isaiah 11:1-10

On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,

and from his roots a bud shall blossom.

The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:

a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

a spirit of counsel and of strength,

a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord,

and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.

Not by appearance shall he judge,

nor by hearsay shall he decide,

but he shall judge the poor with justice,

and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.

He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

Justice shall be the band around his waist,

and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;

the calf and the young lion shall browse together,

with a little child to guide them.

The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,

together their young shall rest;

the lion shall eat hay like the ox.

The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,

and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.

There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,

as water covers the sea.

On that day, the root of Jesse,

set up as a signal for the nations,

the Gentiles shall seek out,

for his dwelling shall be glorious.

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Commentary on Is 11:1-10

The Prophet Isaiah refers to a “shoot from the stump of Jesse.” Jesse was the father of King David. The stump refers to the line of David being cut back during the Babylonian Exile. The prophet here sees the return of the messianic King, predicting that the messiah will come from King David’s line and will ultimately bring great peace to the faithful.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

R. (cf. 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

O God, with your judgment endow the king,

and with your justice, the king’s son;

he shall govern your people with justice

and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Justice shall flower in his days,

and profound peace, till the moon be no more.

May he rule from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,

and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.

He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;

the lives of the poor he shall save.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

May his name be blessed forever;

as long as the sun his name shall remain.

In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;

all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

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Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

Psalm 72 is one of the Royal Psalms. In this selection we hear an echo of the justice and peace of the King’s rule that is reiterated in Isaiah’s prophecy.

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Reading II: Romans 15:4-9

Brothers and sisters:

Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,

that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures

we might have hope.

May the God of endurance and encouragement

grant you to think in harmony with one another,

in keeping with Christ Jesus,

that with one accord you may with one voice

glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you,

for the glory of God.

For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised

to show God’s truthfulness,

to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,

but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

As it is written:

Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles

and sing praises to your name.

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Commentary on Rom 15:4-9

In the first paragraph of this passage St. Paul speaks of “what was written previously".  In this the apostle was referring to v.3: "For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, 'The insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”"; a paraphrase from Psalm 69 which in turn refers to messianic suffering on our behalf. Through that vision comes the hope of the faithful and Paul’s encouragement to be unified in that common hope.

The second paragraph calls for unity among all who believe in Christ.  He did not come only to fulfill the Hebrew Prophecy (“the promises to the patriarchs”) but to all peoples.  In the verse immediately following this selection he cites Deuteronomy 32:43 as his source.

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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?

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.

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.”

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Commentary on Mt 3:1-12

This Gospel passage from St. Matthew introduces St. John the Baptist.  The Gospel author does not, as St. Luke does, make it clear that St. John is a relative of Jesus or say anything about his origins.  The Baptist is making the preparatory statements to the people that will open the way for Jesus own ministry.

St. John is calling for repentance, a change of heart and conduct that will lead the faithful back to God. His attire recalls that of the prophet Elijah (who was expected to return to prepare for the final establishment of God’s Kingdom according to Hebrew tradition – Malachi 3:23-24[4]).  We are told that the Baptist is the one predicted by the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:3.

The Baptist has harsh words for the Pharisees and Sadducees whom had apparently come to his ritual bath with an attitude that they did not need to repent since they are already keeping Mosaic Law scrupulously.  The Baptist tells them that, while they may keep the Law, there is no conversion of heart and God will see that.

The passage concludes with St. John’s prediction of the coming of the Messiah who will “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  This final reference to judgment uses the image of the harvest where chaff is separated from grain by throwing both into the air and letting the heavier grain fall back to the ground while the useless chaff is blown away and later collected and burned.

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Homily:

St. Matthew’s Gospel introduces us to what many scholars have called “The Last Prophet”, St. John the Baptist.  St. John’s coming was an important event for the original audience of St. Matthew who were primarily Christians that had converted from Judaism.  Not only does he come fulfilling the prediction of the great Prophet Isaiah as the “one crying out in the desert” Isaiah 40:3,  but he comes in that eccentric style and manner – “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.”

To us that may seem like simply adding color to this charismatic preacher.  But to St. Matthew’s readers, those who first read his Gospel, the Baptist’s eccentricity had another meaning.  There was another prophet similarly described – Elijah, whose exploits and calls for repentance are recorded in the Books of Kings.  The prophet Micah 3:23-24 famously predicted that before the Messiah would come, Elijah would return.  The Baptist, in style, mannerisms, and message fulfills the essence of this prediction.  So when the Last Prophet calls out that one is coming, whose sandals he is not worthy to tie, and that one turns out to be Jesus - the Hebrew prerequisites are satisfied, the Messiah has come.

So where we see St. John as this colorful figure announcing the Lord’s coming, the early Christians would have been whispering among themselves as they listened to these word “It is the prophecy! – Elijah has returned!  The Kingdom of God is at hand!”

They too would have been thinking about the words of Isaiah that were proclaimed in our first reading.  They would have wondered about where and how this Messiah would appear.  We all heard the prediction – “On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”  The Jesse the Prophet Isaiah is referring to is the father of King David.  In the first chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel the Evangelist records a Genealogy of Jesus. (It’s the one all of us who proclaim the Gospel kind of dread because some of the names of Jesus ancestors are really tough to pronounce).  In the 5^th and 6^th verses of that first chapter this is recorded: “Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.” (Matthew 1:5-6)  The stump of Jesse is the line of King David that was cut off when Babylon invaded and conquered Israel.

The bud that blossoms actually blossoms into a rose; for it is not only St. Joseph who comes from the line of Jesse but his bride, Holy Mother Mary as well.  From her spouts the flower that brings us salvation.  We can only imagine the wonder of those early Christians as they realized God’s marvelous revelation.  How at every turn, the prophetic words of the scriptures were fulfilled in Christ.

In this, our Advent season, it is time for us to be re-energized by this same recollection.  It is our turn to marvel that the words of Isaiah and Micah who lived seven hundred years before the Lord and the even older chroniclers of the Books of Kings as their words are fulfilled. 

Today we can reflect once more upon the wisdom of St. Augustine who states in his principles for understanding scripture “The New Testament is concealed in the Old, and the Old is revealed in the New.”  We see Isaiah predicting the advent of the Lord and in St. John we see Elijah return it is our turn to be amazed at God’s plan unfolding before us and reflect also on the part we may be called to play as we continue to strive to fulfill our own roles in God’s Kingdom on earth.

We must, however, take a close look at the Voice:  St. John the Baptist’s call to conversion.  That word “conversion” is one that gives us some trouble.  We say “trouble” because when we hear that we are called to conversion we generally think “Well gee, I’m already converted.  I believe in God and Jesus. Conversion is for those people who don’t believe.”

Not true!  Conversion is not like an “Altar Call” in some tent revival meeting.  It is not the “Once saved, always saved” idea held by some Christian denominations. 

Conversion is an intensely personal and ongoing commitment to pattern our lives around Jesus Christ and his teachings; to be his disciples in a real and visible way. It is not some vague idea that “I’m a good person.”  It is a daily decision to try to be like Jesus in what we say, do and think.  This is the call to conversion St. John refers to – that is why he took the Scribes and Pharisees to task.

As we continue our Advent preparation; waiting for the Lord.  May we be reminded that, when he comes, he will see if we have  made that very personal decision to follow him and, if we have done so, the great reward promised by the Father will be ours.

Pax

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[1] ALTRE

[2] The picture used is “St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness” by Hieronymus Bosch, 1495-1500

[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL).  This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.

[4] Note in many older Bible translations, taken from the Latin Vulgate, this citation is Malachi 4:1-5.  In the original Hebrew and in the Septuagint there were three (3) chapters.  In the Latin Vulgate, there were 4.  The break point was at 3:19.