Isaiah 11.1-10 | Romans 15.4-9 | Matthew 3.1-12

We begin the second week of Advent with Mother Church, which is our preparation for the glorious return of Christ and for Christmas. Today we light two candles of our Advent wreath. The darkness of sin is being driven out so that the light, which is Christ, the rising Sun, may shine.

Today the evangelist Matthew speaks to us of John the Baptist, of his simplicity and humility, and of the power of his preaching, preparing the way of the Lord. Hence his title of "precursor", that is, the one who goes ahead straightening the paths.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of someone who would cry out in the desert (cf. 40.3), preparing the Jews well for the coming of the promised Messiah. The first Christians associated John the Baptist with this character of Isaiah. Historically, John the Baptist had a significant, critical, and autonomous religious movement within Judaism. Early Christians reinterpreted this movement and linked it to the movement of Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist was a simple and unpretentious man, dressing and eating humbly, as one who was free and prepared to leave at any moment.

The "desert" was more symbolic than geographical. In the Jewish mindset, the desert recalled the Exodus, the departure from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the promised land, with the Hebrews led by Moses. Going to John the Baptist meant purifying oneself from sin to welcome the imminent coming of the promised Messiah.

In fact, John the Baptist focused on the banks of the Jordan River, where repentant sinners received baptism with water for conversion. Baptism represented death to sin (immersing the person in water) followed by new birth (raising the person from the water), which gave belonging to the faithful who longed for the promised Messiah. 

Living conditions in Israel during the centuries of foreign domination were terrible. The Jews pleaded with God for the fulfillment of the messianic promises, asking for intervention, as in the times of Moses and David.

It was believed that the coming of the Messiah was near and that, if the penitents repented of their sins, His coming would be hastened. Thus, Jews came for baptism from Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from all the places around the Jordan River.

Among the penitents, many Pharisees (Jews fanatical about ritual purity) and Sadducees (Jews resistant to the reforms after the Babylonian Exile) appeared. Their presence bothered John the Baptist, who questioned the sincerity of their conversion.

John the Baptist's preaching was strong: in addition to calling for conversion and announcing the imminence of the Kingdom of God, he said that the coming of the Messiah, for the sincerely repentant, would be an occasion for cleansing and salvation; But for the falsely repentant, it would be a time of wrath, destruction, and condemnation.

So that there would be no doubt among the Jews, in his humility, John the Baptist denied that he was the Messiah and insisted on his weakness before His power. While John baptized with water for conversion, the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Today, the living conditions of a large part of humanity and the environment are also terrible because of personal and structural sins, such as greed, corruption, and violence.

In this Advent Season, without renouncing our daily responsibilities and commitments, yes, we must implore Jesus to fulfill His promise of a glorious return to judge, save, and make the Kingdom of God complete.

Aware that such a return is imminent and can happen at any moment, let us be sincerely repentant penitents and generously share our goods with the poorest, so that the glorious return of Christ may be hastened.

We reaffirm our commitment to more intense prayer (seeking the desert), to the practice of the Christmas Novena in family and neighborhood, and to the confession of sins through the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Finally, like John the Baptist, let us clothe and nourish ourselves humbly, acknowledge our weakness, prepare the way of the Lord, calling sinners to conversion, and announcing the imminence of the Kingdom of God with the glorious return of Christ.

Today the prophet Isaiah speaks to us of the hope of the Jews for the messianic times.

It would be a time of peace, of overcoming all violence. The Messiah, a descendant of King David, would be filled with the Spirit of the Lord and would act as a just judge for the poor and afflicted of the earth, destroying evil. The Messiah would be a great sign, sought by peoples and nations, with a glorious dwelling place.

During this Advent Season, let us place our trust in Christ, who will return at the end of time to satisfy our hunger and thirst for justice, the justice we do not find in this world. Let us seek the wisdom of the Lord and Christ with complete confidence.

Today, the Apostle Paul speaks to us in his letter to the Romans about the firm hope in the Scriptures and the harmony between people of different religions.

The apostle recalled the instructive nature of the Scriptures, which presented the divine promises and their fulfillment by God, who is truthful, through Christ the servant, our Lord.

To be "pagan" meant to have a way of life and religion different from the Jewish experience.

The Jews were very zealous for their religious and cultural traditions. For this reason, they had great resistance to pagans, for not observing their traditions.

Citing the Scriptures (cf. Psalm 18.49), Paul spoke of the praise of the Name of the Lord among the pagans, who glorified God because of His mercy.

In this Advent Season, let us renew our hope in the Scriptures, awaiting the fulfillment of the promise of Christ's return while making coexistence more harmonious among people who have different ways of life and religion. Let us practice respectful dialogue between different religions and different Christian churches. People are more important than religious institutions. Nothing justifies intolerance.

Tomorrow, December 8th, the Church will celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It will be a day of precept Mass.