Second Sunday of Advent, 4th December

Matthew 3:1–12

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Commentary

There many themes in today’s Gospel. So we explore as many as we can by going from verse to verse.

The story of John the Baptist is found in verses 1 to 5. First, we note John preached in the wilderness. It was the time set by God to have John to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. The prophecy of Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”, is difficult to understand and has been misinterpreted. What this prophecy means is that God will come and show Himself to people who are experiencing the sense of loss or abandonment. Meanwhile, the garment dressed by John is also a symbol of prophets. His diet speaks the same effect that he is a prophet. From the garment and diet, the Jews know who John is.

Today, many of us try to judge a person by the way that person dresses and the way that person lives. Sometimes, we believe that such a person is a holy person because he/she dresses and lives in such a way. However, it is so easy for us to forget that it is not a person, even a person as great as John the Baptist, whom we turn to in our loneliness or abandonment. It is God whom we turn to (the original meaning of repent in Greek).

Having said that, John the Baptist did serve a purpose to us. He reminds us that we should turn to God whenever we are fully occupied with our own business and drifting away from God. John reminds us to return to God, our Creator and Saviour. How can we repent or return to God? It could happen in many ways. It can happen at our Advent retreat, when I suffer from a serious illness, in a broken relationship, or when I meet someone who points me to God. In other words, every time when I am in the wilderness like John the Baptist, God speaks to me in my wilderness. He invites me to question the values that I hold so dearly, my inordinate attachments with material goods to human relationship.

The experience in wilderness is a time honoured and proven experience accumulated from generations of prophets. Therefore, in this Advent, I pray for God’s grace to prepare me for His coming.

John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” He knew that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to his baptism as a kind of ritual, but not as a true repentance. John’s warning to the Pharisees and Sadducees is still valid today to us. The trump card that Pharisees and Sadducees thought they had was that they were children to Abraham. Nowadays, many of us practice our faith without involving our hearts. We believe that we are saved because we were baptized. However, the Gospel reminds us that if we do not produce good fruits, the axe is now laid to the root of our time. It is the sign of the coming of the Son of Man.

Verse 11, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”, shows how John humbly realized his ministry and vocation. How many of us today know about our own identity, vocation and the name of grace when we serve our Holy Church? Most of the time, we forget the One who is more powerful than I. It is another area that we should reflect on during Advent and repent!

The last verse of today’s Gospel: “His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” is a comfort to all Christians who witness the suffering and brokenness of mankind in the world despite the advancement in our technology. The wars and refugees in the Middle East, the injustice of wide gap between the rich and the poor, and the downgrading of human dignity in human trafficking and foreign labour are the signs telling us only God can save us. Let’s be prepared for the coming of God. Amen.