SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Mt. 3:1-12
December 8, 2013
GOSPEL
READING: The Preaching of John the
Baptist
In
those days, 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.”
REFLECTION: The Call to Repentance
The call of John the Baptist is always
valid and relevant, as he prepares for the appearance of Jesus, the Messiah,
and as we prepare for Christmas and the coming of the Lord at the end of
time.
Repentance is not just a feeling, though it is often
accompanied by feelings of sorrow and regret. Repentance involves three things:
(1) a change of mind — a new way of seeing, (2) a
change of heart — a new direction in life, and (3)
a change of behavior — a new way of acting.
We
prepare the way of the Lord in our lives and in our society by changing our way
of thinking — the primacy of money, power, pleasure and popularity in our
lives. We must change our attitude — "me first, me second, and me always" or "my
family first, my family second, and my family always." And we must change
our behavior: "Produce good fruit as evidence of your
repentance."
We
have even better reasons today for repentance. Not only is the kingdom of
heaven near; it has come in Jesus Christ. And we have a better motive: not only
that God will punish us if we do not change, but that God is so loving and has
been so kind that we must change.
Jesus
truly loves us even we are sinners. He condemns our sins but not entirely
ourselves because Jesus knows that we can change ourselves for the better and we
can solemnly ask for repentance. Advent is the time to repent for our sins and
embrace God's kindness.
ABOUT
THE SHARER:
ADRIAN L. SAN JUAN is a 24 year-old customer specialist associate in a well-known business
process outsource industry. He is currently completing a degree in Human Resource
Development Management at the Philippine School of Business Administration.
He loves
singing, playing guitar and piano, and dancing. He has been serving the Lord at
Sta. Perpetua Parish for 12 years (and counting). He has been a member of a
church choir for 4 years.
KEYWORDS:
Advent, Cycle A,
OP Youth, Repentance, Conversion, Change
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