ADVENT II- Is 11:1-10; Rom 15:4-9; Mt 3:1-12

In the first reading, prophet Isaiah paints a picture of what the reign of the future descendant of David, Son of Jesse, will look like. Isaiah foresees a time when peace and concord would be established throughout the whole of creation. There would be the restoration of a lost serenity and innocence so that in their relations with one another God’s creatures ‘do no hurt, no harm’.

In his kingdom, “The wolf lives with the lamb,

the panther lies down with the kid, Calf and lion-cub feed together with a little boy to lead them.

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.

In short, he will be able to re-establish harmony between God and man; harmony between man and man; and harmony between man and nature. This extraordinary harmony will be founded on wisdom and the fear of the Lord. Once men come to know God, sin, the cause of disunion, will disappear and peace will set in.

The Gospel of today shows John the Baptist inviting the Jews to “Repent, for the kingdom of God is close at hand.”

John came heralding Jesus and he was the last of the Old Testament Prophets; he came after a gap of 400 years of prophetic silence. In the ancient world, a herald was one who went ahead of a king’s chariot to prepare the road. He would command a crew which would smooth out the usually rough roads of that day by filling potholes and removing boulders. The herald would also go before the king shouting, “Make way, the King is coming!”

John was very straight forward in calling people to conversion. He tells those who came to him for baptism that they cannot claim security simply by calling themselves children of Abraham and thus assuming that the promises made to Abraham would be applied to them. Placing their confidence in their ancestry was not enough to maintain a right relationship with God. Rather, John tells them, if they don’t measure up to their calling then God will simply raise up new children of Abraham. God will leave them as chosen people of God.

Participation in the kingdom of God requires a change of heart. And this means living life in a new and challenging way.

The Greek word for repentance is metánoia which means, "to change one's mind and heart," a change of direction or a U-turn. Repentance involves turning around – facing in a new direction -- with a change of heart and a new commitment. Repentance is a daily experience that renews our Baptism. “The repentant person comes before God saying, 'I can't do it myself, God. Kill me and give me new life. You buried me in Baptism. Bury me again today. Raise me to a new life.'" Repentance for us is not a one-time action but must take place daily, because preparing for the Lord is a perpetual task.  Repentance should lead to right action.

At the time that Leonardo da Vinci painted "The Last Supper," he had an enemy who was a fellow-painter. Da Vinci had a bitter argument with this man and despised him. When Da Vinci painted the face of Judas Iscariot, he used the face of his enemy so that it would be present for ages as the man who betrayed Jesus. While painting this picture, he took delight in knowing that others would actually notice the face of his enemy on Judas. As he worked on the faces of the other disciples, he often tried to paint the face of Jesus but couldn't make any progress. Da Vinci felt frustrated and confused. In time, he realized what was wrong. His hatred for the other painter was holding him back from finishing the face of Jesus. Only after making peace with his fellow-painter and repainting the face of Judas was he able to paint the face of Jesus and complete his masterpiece.

Our repentance should lead us to asking forgiveness from God and the one another. To the offended human person we can ask straight but to get assurance of God’s forgiveness we need to approach him through the sacrament of penance. We have opportunity for that here at our parish this Tuesday at 7.00 pm. We will have 8 priests to choose from, to go to reconciliation.

Bearing good fruit is not just doing good things but being a good tree, making oneself worthy of God’s grace. To experience the joys of the coming Kingdom in a fresh way at this Christmas, just as Christ wants us to, let’s show evidence of true repentance in our life.