A reading from the prophet Isaiah (11:1-10)
A branch will spring from the stock of Jesse,
a shoot will grow from his roots.
On him will rest the spirit of the Lord,
the spirit of wisdom and insight,
the spirit of counsel and power,
the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord:
his delight will be in fear of the Lord.
His judgement will not be by appearances,
his verdict not given on hearsay.
He will judge the weak with righteousness
and give fair sentence for the poor of the land.
He will strike the violent with the rod of his mouth
and with the breath of his lips bring death to the wicked.
Righteousness will be the belt around his waist
and truth the belt about his hips.
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard lie down with the kid,
calf, lion and fat-stock beast together,
with a little boy to lead them.
The cow and the bear will graze,
their young will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like the ox.
The infant will play over the hole of the adder,
the baby will put its hand into the viper’s lair.
No hurt, no harm will be done on all my holy mountain,
for the land will be full of knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.
That day, the root of Jesse,
standing as a signal for the peoples,
will be sought out by the nations
and its dwelling will be glorious.
In the final verses of chapter 10, which immediately precede this passage, we hear of the Lord God’s judgement on tall and proud trees, which symbolise powerful and arrogant rulers. The contrast with the ‘branch which will spring from the stock of Jesse’ is striking. God can use this humble descendant of David, filling him with the multiple gifts of the Spirit, so that he gives good judgment, especially for the poor and the weak, and ‘strikes the violent with the rod of his mouth’. The establishment of ‘righteousness’ (sedeq) brings in its wake ecological harmony, as animals hitherto antagonistic become peaceable, and a little boy leads them. There will be ‘no hurt, no harm’ on God’s holy mountain, for the land will be ‘full of the knowledge of the Lord’. A second and similar image concludes the passage: the root of Jesse will be a ‘signal for the peoples’, a banner to rally them. The Messiah arising from Israel and sent to Israel has nevertheless a universal role: his dwelling among the nations will reveal God’s glory (kabod).
Psalm 72 (71) The Messiah will bring peace and justice. He will save the poor and the needy. ‘All nations will bless his name.’
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans (15:4-9)
Everything that was written earlier was written for our instruction so that we should have hope through perseverance and through the encouragement of the scriptures. May the God of perseverance and encouragement give you all the same purpose, following the example of Christ Jesus, so that, united in heart and mind, you may together give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one voice.
Accept one another, then, as Christ accepted you, for the glory of God. I tell you that Christ became a servant of the circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to our fathers, and so that the gentiles should give glory to God for his mercy, as it is written: Therefore I shall praise you among the nations and sing praise to your name.
Perseverance (hupomone) and encouragement (paraklesis) are gifts of God. Paul stresses that both gifts are derived from the holy Scriptures, given to God’s people and handed on to Christians, gifts which bring hope. Paul prays that Christians may receive from the God of perseverance and encouragement the grace to follow ‘the example of Christ Jesus’. This means accepting one another, ‘for the glory of God’. Christ was first of all ‘servant of the circumcised for the sake of God’s truth’, in order to be faithful to the promises made in earlier times regarding the nations (Genesis 12:3). Hence both Jew and Gentile come to praise God, as they acknowledge the mercy shown to them.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (3:1-12)
In those days, John the Baptist came, proclaiming in the desert of Judaea, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven has drawn near.’ This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said:
A voice of one crying in the desert,
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight.’
John himself wore a garment of camel-hair with a leather belt round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole region around the Jordan district kept going out to him, and they were baptised by him in the River Jordan as they confessed their sins. But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Produce fruit worthy of repentance, and do not be satisfied with saying to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father,” for I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones. Even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees, so any tree failing to produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I baptise you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise 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 in a fire that never goes out.’
John the Baptist is always introduced to us on the Second Sunday of Advent. Matthew’s account has John preach with the very same words Jesus will later use: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.’ In this way Matthew stresses John’s role as precursor. The evangelist uses words from the prophet Isaiah (40:3) to underline once again the fulfilment which comes with Jesus Christ. Specific to Matthew’s account are John’s fierce words to the Pharisees and Sadducees, when he calls them a ‘brood of vipers’, and speaks of ‘the wrath to come’. Their being descendants of Abraham makes no difference. The image of the axe being prepared to fell trees which do not bear fruit, so that they can be consigned to the fire, continues the fierce tone which John assumes in Matthew’s account. The coming Messiah will burn in fire the chaff separated from the wheat.
How do the fierce words of John the Baptist contrast with the tone of the preaching of Jesus?
Pray for the grace of repentance, and the willingness to begin again.