REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS CLOSE AT HAND

II SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Matthew 3:1-12

We may say that Advent is dominated by three extraordinary figures: Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary of Nazareth. In Isaiah, we hear God’s Promise of salvation that fills us with hope and directs our sight towards a future of freedom, justice and peace, because the Lord of history will intervene in our favour. That future, the fulfilment of which is already beginning, seems like a dream that can be made a reality only by God’s merciful love and power. We pray and hope that Isaiah’s vision may come to be true:

The wolf lives with the lamb,

the panther lies down with the kid,

calf and lion feed together,

with a little boy to lead them.

The cow and the bear make friends,

their young lie down together.

The lion eats straw like the ox.

The infant plays over the cobra’s hole;

into the viper’s lair

the young child puts his hand.

They do no hurt, no harm,

on all my holy mountain,

for the country is filled with the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters swell the sea. (Is 11:6-9).

John was the last of the prophets, greater than a prophet (Lk 7:26). He is presented as the one who came to fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy:

A voice cries in the wilderness:

Prepare a way for the Lord,

make his paths straight.

John was “a voice” at the service of the great message of salvation. Sent to announce the coming of the Messiah, he made his proclamation clear: “‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” Like those who heard him for the first time, we are invited to repent and that must be done with urgency.

We must repent because we have gone astray. Thus, confessing our sins, we must change direction and turn to the Lord. John’s way of life was a protest against the values of most of the people in Judah. He abandoned city life and went into the desert, where he survived on a very frugal diet. People went there and listened to him. With John, Jerusalem and the Temple are no more the points of reference. To encounter the Lord and recognise Him as our refuge and salvation, people abandoned their city comfort and experienced the harshness of the desert, which made them aware of the need for conversion. To the Pharisees and the Sadducees, John did not mince his words: “‘Brood of vipers, who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming?” We must produce fruits of repentance to escape the harsh punishment that is coming for all those who do not change their ways.

Let us pray with the psalm 72:

In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.

O God, give your judgement to the king,

  to a king’s son your justice,

that he may judge your people in justice

  and your poor in right judgement.

In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.

In his days justice shall flourish

  and peace till the moon fails.

He shall rule from sea to sea,

  from the Great River to earth’s bounds.