December 7, 2025 Second Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Please be seated.
What comes to mind when you think of Advent? Christmas markets? Glühwein? Christmas trees? Lights and ornaments? Children’s pageants? Christmas carols? A long time ago when I was a child, December meant “Christmas is coming!” That meant a little while longer and presents would come my way. I couldn’t wait! Advent is a joyous time. And frankly, we need it. December is a dark, cold, dreary month. The days grow shorter and shorter – and you hardly ever see the sun anyway. In describing Narnia in perpetual winter under the rule of the White Witch, Lucy says “it’s always winter, but it never gets to Christmas.”[1] That would describe December without Advent and Christmas? At least in January, the days start getting longer. But thanks to Advent and Christmas, December is a festive month.
Advent, which begins the church year, is a time of preparation for the Lord’s coming. A Church of England website says, “Advent is a season of expectation and preparation, as the Church prepares to celebrate the coming (adventus) of Christ in his incarnation, and also looks ahead to his final advent as judge at the end of time. The readings and liturgies not only direct us towards Christ’s birth, they also challenge the modern reluctance to confront the theme of divine judgement.
Advent is a penitential season. Today’s Gospel reading makes clear why. John the Baptist, who was foretold in Isaiah 40:3-4 as a voice calling in the wilderness “prepare the way for the Lord,” told the people, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt 3:2). Accordingly, we need to examine ourselves to prepare for the coming of God’s kingdom. We should ask ourselves, “What is keeping me from giving myself fully to Christ as my Lord and Savior?”
Interestingly, to the religious leaders of the day John the Baptist had harsh words: “Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” These self-satisfied people saw no reason to repent. True, they came to undergo a baptism of repentance, but probably because that was expected of them or because everyone else was doing it. These were the most religious and respectable people in Judean society, and John the Baptist called them a “brood of vipers,” perhaps the worst insult possible. They remind me of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, praying in the Temple (Luke 8:9-14). The Pharisee thanks God for making him so righteous, not like other people, especially that tax collector over there. The tax collector beats his chest and prays, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The tax collector went home justified before God, because he showed true repentance.
John the Baptist continues his warning. Someone more powerful than him was coming, someone for whom he was not worthy to carry the sandals. While John baptized with water, the coming One would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He would separate the wheat from the chaff and gather the wheat into the granary but burn the chaff with an unquenchable fire. It’s certainly better to be the wheat! That means, we have to bear fruit, as the parable of the fig tree illustrates (Luke 13:6-9).
The one who was coming would be a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch would grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1). Jesse was the father of King David, so it would be from among David’s descendants that this person would come. He will judge the poor with righteousness and decide with equity for the meek, but the wicked he will kill with the breath of his lips. He will inaugurate a reign of righteousness and faithfulness. This message is also reflected in today’s Psalm. The King’s Son will rule God’s people righteously and the poor with justice. He will defend the needy, rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.
Jesus promised He would return and judge the living and the dead, His second coming, which we proclaim in both the Apostle’s and the Nicene Creed. Jesus will establish the new heaven and earth in which righteousness will flourish and peace will prevail. This is what Isaiah describes as God’s holy mountain, where the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together. “They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Today, we live in the already and not yet. We live in the already, because Christ has come. He has reconciled the world to God on the Cross and rose again to make it complete. And if we compare today’s world with that of the Roman Empire, with its slavery and gladiatorial games, we probably have moved toward greater righteousness. Still, carnivores remain carnivores. Similarly, humans remain capable of unspeakable evil, as well as of good. The Holocaust and the brutal wars in Ukraine and the Holy Land show this all too well.
In the meantime, what should we do? We should examine ourselves and repent, turning to Christ for forgiveness and honoring Him as Lord and Savior. We should work for justice and help those in need, and we should preach the Gospel to all nations. What God expects of us can be summarized in the Law of Love: “We should love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind and love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matthew 22:37-40). Granted, we can’t do that adequately, but the Holy Spirit will help us. We should also live in harmony with one another, as Paul admonishes the church at Rome. Jesus has overcome the old division between Jews and Gentiles, and He can overcome the divisions we have today if we let the Spirit guide us.
[1] C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 42.