Second Sunday of Advent
During Advent, the scripture readings pay much attention to John the Baptist, perhaps even more than Mary. His message seems to be terribly out of sync with the sentiments of contemporary Advent. It’s like we are having a baby shower for Jesus and then we come to Church and hear John’s words, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is hand!” (Mt 3:1). It gets even more stern: “Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt 3:10). It is almost as if there is a dissonance between our Advent and the John’s Advent.
Perhaps the answer lies in the historical development of Advent. As I mentioned in my homily last Sunday, the early Christian Advent was meant to prepare new Christians for entry into the Church. In the 6th Century, Advent became a time of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. It was only in the Middle Ages that the original Advent got intertwined with preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth. Having said that, this development was not meant to soften the demands that preparation for Christ’s birth or his Second Coming makes on us.
In this homily, I would like give John the Baptist the place due to him while also paying heed to his message.
The Power of John the Baptist
John was born between the 6th and 7th Centuries, somewhere in Judaea, to Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. His young years were spent in the Judaean desert, most probably with a monastic community of the Essenes. It was a strict Jewish sect that existed from about the 2nd century BC to the end of the 1st century AD. Individual hermits often educated the young like John in their ideals.
The camel’s hair garment John wore was the traditional garb of the prophets. His diet of locusts and wild honey represented strict adherence to Jewish purity laws. We do not know if all Essenes became preachers, but John certainly did. His preaching addressed the entire Jewish society. His message was exactly what today’s gospel says - that God’s judgment on the world was imminent and that, to prepare for this judgment the people should repent of their sins, be baptized, and produce appropriate fruits of repentance.
Ultimately, in some quarters, John became more popular than Jesus. In fact, many believed that John and not Jesus was the Messiah. So much so that gospel writers emphasized statements like the one we have in today’s gospel, “…the one who is coming after me is mightier than I” (Mt 3:11), and “He must increase and I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). These statements were made to make the point that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
For us today, the main message is that whether we are focusing on the birth of Jesus or his Second coming, we cannot ignore the message of John the Baptist. The coming of Jesus has implications, and no one reminds of them like John.
Advent Makes Demands
I know a five-year-old, whose are parents are non-religious, but still celebrate Christmas. The kid has a non-religious Advent Calendar. It suggests a non-religious action each day and each day comes with a candy. The kid follows the Advent Calendar not only because it helps her to count down to Christmas and open gifts, but it also guarantees her a candy each day. Add to this the commercialization of Christmas and we have a celebration that makes no demands on anybody.
But that is not John’s Advent or John’s Jesus. By the time John introduced Jesus to the world, Jesus was already an adult. John was not preparing the people of Israel for a Christmas pageant. Rather, he sought to “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Mt 3:3). John introduced Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” He foresaw the Paschal Sacrifice of the new Passover Lamb. For him, the coming of Messiah was serious business. For him, human redemption makes demands. For him, salvation calls for radical conversion.
The call John the Baptist is the primary call of Advent – “Prepare the way of the Lord!” (Mt 3:3). This Advent, to not heed his message would be childish. Before Christmas calls for a party, it calls for a conversion.
True Conversion
True conversion means two things - a turning away from and a turning toward. This is very clear in today’s gospel reading. When John began his ministry, the whole region along the Jordan was going to him to be baptized and they “acknowledged their sins”. Pharisees and the Sadducees also came. His question to them was, “Who warned you to feel from the coming wrath?” (Mt 3:7). In other words, turning away from sin is only one part of conversion. Then he said to them, “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance” (Mt 3:8). Conversion also means a commitment to the good.
John was very familiar with the scripture. He would have known about the kind of prophesies of Isaiah in today’s first reading – the promise of a new Paradise. In this Paradise “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” (Is 11:6-8). It is a vision of complete peace and total harmony.
Jesus came to take us to the Paradise that Isaiah prophesied. This Paradise is not some pie in the sky. It is here and now. Jesus called it the “kingdom of God” – an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace. But the fulfillment of this vision calls for a deep-rooted conversion. It calls us to turn away from that which contrary to God’s reign. Equally, it calls us to produce good fruits that advances God’s reign – truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love, and peace.
The call of John the Baptist is very important not just for Advent or Christmas, but for coming of the reign of God. We can treat Advent like a little kid with a candy. But Jesus did not just come to give us candy. Jesus came to set us free. John the Baptist’s voice is an important voice toward this goal.
- Fr. Satish Joseph