Dec. 4, 2022 – Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12
The first reading describes how God will reform the lives of his people by sending the Messiah. Because of the bad example of the successors of King David, the chosen people had not been faithful to Yahweh. Therefore, the Lord God, through the prophet Isaiah, dispels their fears and arouses hope in his people with the promise of a new Davidic king (a son of Jesse), who will restore the peace and a glorious reign of justice on earth. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 72), the Psalmist portrays the Messiah as the one who will have compassion on the poor, the humble and the afflicted.
In the second reading, Paul prays for the reformation of the Judeo-Christians in Rome and instructs them to draw constancy and encouragement from the books of the Old Testament. They are to live in harmony with Gentile Christians, accepting them as equals, as brothers and sisters, as they wait together for the second coming of Jesus.
In today’s Gospel:
In a typically biblical-narrative style, Matthew presents the figure and activity of John the Baptist in the desert of Judea. This last geographical indication is intended to situate John’s activity in the region of Judea, while Jesus will carry out his in Galilee. For Matthew, John’s activity is completely oriented toward and subordinate to “the one who is to come,” the person of Jesus. Moreover, John is presented as the great and courageous preacher who foretold the coming judgment of God.
So John, the Baptist, exhorts the Pharisees and Sadducees to give proof that they are willing to reform their lives to recognize and be ready to meet and welcome the promised Messiah. He challenges them to repentance, conversion and renewal, and because he expects the Messiah to come soon, he incites them to act justly and charitably so that they will be prepared when the Messiah arrives, likewise, as we prepare to welcome Christ at Christmas, John advises us to “prepare the way of the Lord.”
Two kinds of people
Two kinds of people went to see John. There were ordinary people, genuine penitents, seeking reconciliation with God. There were also Pharisees and Sadducees. However, these were there not to express sorrow for sin but to test John’s orthodoxy and observance of the Law.
The Baptist sees them as much in need of repentance and conversion as anyone else. They must not simply think that because they are descendants of Abraham, their salvation is assured. It is not birth, race, religious affiliation, education, social status or financial clout that makes us God’s friends, but the awareness of our total dependence on Him for everything we need. Salvation comes only to those who give themselves totally into God’s hands and make His will their own. No one is saved simply by being born a Law-abiding Jew, as the Pharisees thought, no more

John’s conditions for the Kingdom
John the Baptist’s preaching aimed at repentance and conversion to belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew does not use the words “Kingdom of God,” as Mark does, because he follows the Jewish tradition of avoiding the use of God’s name. Belonging to the Kingdom of God means living life centered on God and controlled by Him. John wanted people to experience such a life. Anyone who wants to experience this “kingdom of God” needs to make a radical change in his or her life. This is the call to repentance. We cannot fall under God’s sovereign rule without a change of attitude, a change of heart and a change of lifestyle. John not only denounced men for what they had done, but called them back to what they should do. Forgiveness of sins and change of life will bear good fruit, that is, good things will be done for righteous reasons.
“The kingdom of heaven is at hand”: There is no more time left for conversion.
The prophet Isaiah is the key prophet of the Advent of the Lord. This Sunday we have “a greater one” (Mt 11:11): John the Baptist. The evangelist John, in his gospel, presents his greatness in three ways: personally, in testimony, and morally.
The preaching of the Baptist is nothing other than for his hearers the same preaching of Jesus starting with that same invitation to conversion: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” There is no other time left for conversion. The physical form of his figure, the dress, the food, the voice, the riverbank are the background or that short time spoken of, to accept the invitation.
The first step to take is to put ourselves before the Lord and listen to his Word so that it may reach the heart and transform it.
For Good Workers…
– God’s holy providence asks us to free ourselves from the chaff, to free ourselves from the useless straw, from this nothingness that we carry on us and that does not serve us.
– To prepare the way of the Lord means, to dry up, to simplify…This is the time.
– The time of Advent is a splendid time to come back into ourselves. To awaken
To remember the good received and to detach from evil.
– Perhaps no one will tell us what place we occupy in God’s heart and for God. It is the case
then that we ask ourselves the question. Deep within ourselves, are we like the Baptist? Do we live the greatness of our lives in witness, as the voice of one who cries out in the wilderness?
– It is God’s love that sustains our strength, when it is in danger of failing; fidelity, when it falters; hope, when we are in danger of being knocked down by disappointment.
Have a good journey and a Happy Sunday!
Fr Joby Kavungal RCJ