BIBLE STUDY #22

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

December 5, 2010

Gospel        Matthew 3:1-12

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths. 
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair 
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves, 
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you, 
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit 
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, 
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize 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 with unquenchable fire.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

As we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent, we go back to the beginning of chapter 3 of Matthew’s Gospel, which is the beginning of Jesus public ministry. Before we hear from Jesus, though, we hear from John the Baptist. He is the precursor of the Messiah, the one preparing the way of the Lord. John the Baptists plays the role of Elijah, the one who was taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot and was supposed to return to prepare the way for the Messiah. He is the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah (Luke’s gospel). Matthew and Mark’s gospels describe him as wearing a camel–hair cloak, a belt made of leather, and eating locusts and wild honey.  It is possible that John was somehow associated with the Essenes, the community that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, because of similarities between them.

As we go through Matthew’s gospel this year, it is important to remember that Matthew was writing to a group made up mostly of converts from Judaism. Before Christianity separated totally from Judaism, Jesus followers were seen as a new sect of Judaism. They would worship in the synagogue on Saturday, and go to someone’s house on Sunday for the breaking of the bread (Eucharist). In fact, the Liturgy of the Word at Mass is based on a synagogue prayer service, while the Liturgy of the Eucharist is based on the Seder service, which Jesus performed with his disciples on the night before he died. In order for Jewish converts to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, Matthew would have to show that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies concerning the Messiah; thus today we have John the Baptist fulfilling Elijah’s role as the precursor of the Messiah. This will become more evident as we go through the year.

John begins his preaching with the words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” These are the same words that Jesus says in 4:17 to begin his own public ministry. John wants people to prepare for Jesus coming by being baptized for the forgiveness of sins. He was ‘preparing the way of the Lord,’ that is, getting people to open their minds and hearts to be ready for the coming of Jesus the Messiah. He was trying to shake them out of the complacency of every day living so they wouldn’t miss Jesus.

We, too, can get lost in the complacency of the hustle and bustle of the secular Christmas, with the parties, the shopping, the wrapping, the baking, and all the things we do in December. Christmas day comes and what a relief! It’s here! The day ends, and we feel a sense of sadness, even of loss, because we miss the importance of the season and lose a chance to feel God’s grace.

The first step on the road to recovery from the addiction of secular Christmas is to realize that we are NOT in the Christmas season. That begins on Christmas Eve, and runs until the Baptism of the Lord on January 9, 2011. We are in the Advent season, when we take time to prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas. The secular celebration I would call the ‘Holiday Season’ for lack of a better name. Or better yet, we can call it the ‘Economy Season’ when we make our best effort to revive the failing US economy by spending money we don’t have for things others don’t want (or appreciate) and when we receive gifts that hold up the wobbly table or which we regift to someone next season (don’t give it back to the one who gave it to you, they will be mad!)

The second step is to realize that we have no control over our addiction to spending money and going to parties and the like, so we rely on a higher power (God) to help us overcome their stranglehold on our lives. We can become so focused on secular Christmas, that we forget the reason for the season.

The third step is to realize that this stranglehold can be broken, but unlike other addictions, it can be controlled and does not have to be eliminated. It is not an either/or situation, but a both/and situation.

The fourth step is to take time out for God through sacraments, especially Eucharist and reconciliation, and for personal prayer. There are a lot of things we can do to be prepared. How many people have an advent wreath? Can’t you gather at the wreath, light a candle, and do a prayer service once a week? Can you take a few minutes and read the bible or pray during the day? The best multi tasking we can do is to combine prayer with other things, such as driving, cleaning, or exercising.

I think one of the best things we can do to prepare ourselves is to help some one in need. Visit someone is a hospital, especially a Veterans Hospital; visit someone who is house bound or in a nursing home; call someone you know who is having a problem and offer your help, even if it is only to listen; be affirming: tell people that they are loved and appreciated (that’s worth more than anything you can buy them); reach out to an old friend you haven’t seen in awhile; buy less gifts or skip a meal or two and donate the money to your favorite charity. I am so proud of our parish because all of you provide Christmas gifts to between 15 and 20 needy families in town and because all of you provide over 800 gifts for the nursing home. When we give, we receive a lot more. God will never be outdone in generosity.

You know, if we don’t do anything to prepare ourselves and we don’t feel anything spiritual this Christmas, whose fault is that? It doesn’t take a lot of time each day, and these new habits are something we can take with us and use all year long.

I hope I didn’t offend anyone by using some concepts from the 12 step program, but I think it is a great way to look at some of the things we do in life.

John also tells us to prepare by acknowledging our sins and seeking forgiveness. Acknowledging our sins can hold a lot of surprises for us. We realize, sometimes much to our dismay (but not to others), that we aren’t perfect and make mistakes. And if we are really honest with ourselves, we may even realize how very much we sin! That can be a real shock. That’s one of the great advantages of confession, the more we go, the more we realize we need it.

Receiving forgiveness can be one of the most healing events in our lives. It’s like making up with someone with whom we have been angry. We feel so much better when we reconcile, both with God and with others. When someone mentions to me that God seems distant, or that they think God has forgotten them, I ask them, “When was the last time you went to confession?” Almost all the time it has been a long while.

Accumulated and unforgiven sin blocks the channels of God’s grace until we are totally cut off from God. That is where we get the term mortal sin; it is one that kills our relationship with God. What happens when our arteries are blocked? We eventually have a stroke or heart attack which can kill us. Sin can kill us spiritually. How is God’s grace going to come to us if we have blocked the way with our sins?

Unfortunately, there are many people like the Scribes and Pharisees in the gospel who refuse to listen to John or to Jesus. These are not only unbelievers, but those believers who think they have everything right and refuse to change and grow. We have too many of those.

I also think that John the Baptist is in all 4 gospels because he is meant to be an example to us. We don’t need to dress like him or stand around on street corners preaching repentance, but we should be cleansed by the fire of God’s forgiving love and try to share that with others.  John was on fire with the word, he was focused in his mission, he was affirming to those with faith, and held nothing back with those like the scribes and Pharisees.

John also knew who he was and he knew his mission. John takes a prominent role until Jesus arrives. John said that he must decrease and Jesus must increase. He is the precursor, not the Messiah. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus begins his public ministry after John is arrested, almost like he is taking up John’s ministry, he is picking up where John left off. John realizes that he is unworthy compared to Jesus; his baptism is for forgiveness of sins, but Jesus baptism is with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The gospel then describes the consequence of faith or the lack thereof: “His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat (believers) into his barn, but the chaff (unbelievers) he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Fr. Phil