December 8, 2013

Second Sunday of Advent 
Lectionary: 4
Reading 1 IS 11:1-10

On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.

This is speaking about Jesus Christ, the branch of Jesse.

The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

He is the Messiah, the Son of God, who is anointed by the Holy Spirit of God.

Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
but he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Jesus Christ is the Just Judge who will judge the multitudes at the end of time. Every one will stand before His Judgement seat.  And He will bring everything to light.Nothing is hidden from Him.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.

Then peace will reign upon earth and the City of God, the New Jerusalem, will descend from the heavens.

On that day, the root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.

On that day, Jesus, the branch from the tree of Jesse will be the light of the world who draws all men to Himself.  And  Jew and Gentile will be one in the City of God.

Responsorial Psalm PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

R. (cf. 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Jesus is the Just Judge and the Prince of Peace.  He is the Son of God who has proclaimed peace and justice to the world.  Through Him we have been saved, if we turn to Him and away from our selfish ways.

Reading 2 ROM 15:4-9

Brothers and sisters:
Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,
that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope.

The Scriptures were written to give us hope of our salvation.

May the God of endurance and encouragement
grant you to think in harmony with one another,
in keeping with Christ Jesus,
that with one accord you may with one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May God give you grace to love one another and to live in union with Jesus Christ that you may with one voice give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you,
for the glory of God.
For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised
to show God’s truthfulness,
to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,
but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.
As it is written:
Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.

This is why Jesus welcomed non-Jews. Jesus came to the Jews in order to fulfill the promises given to the patriarchs. And also so that the Gentiles might turn to him and live. And thus glorify God the Father for his mercy.The rest of the boys now

Gospel MT 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.

John the Baptist, the precursor, came at this time to prepare the way of the Lord. And all of Judea came to him to be baptized.

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.

John the Baptist spoke very harshly to the Jewish people. Especially to their leaders. And he revealed to them the end of the Mosaic covenant. This is what it means when he says the ax was being prepared for the root of the trees.

Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

And every tree will be judged. Meaning that the Jews would each be held accountable for their actions.

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.”

This verse is frequently misunderstood. When St. John says that he baptizes with water but Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, he doesn't mean that Jesus was not also baptizing with water. Baptism means washing. And washing requires water.