{"id":6083,"date":"2025-12-06T06:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T06:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/?p=6083"},"modified":"2025-10-16T15:35:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T14:35:52","slug":"commentary-on-2nd-sunday-of-advent-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/commentary-on-2nd-sunday-of-advent-a\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary on 2nd Sunday of Advent A, 7.12.2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TEXT: <\/strong>Matthew 03: 1\u201312<\/strong><\/h3>\n

John the Baptist appears<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He is a prophet<\/strong><\/p>\n

3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, \u201cThe voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.\u201d 4 Now John wore a garment of camel\u2019s hair, and a leather girdle around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.<\/em><\/p>\n

Universal Repentance<\/strong><\/p>\n

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.<\/em><\/p>\n

John preaches repentance<\/strong><\/p>\n

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sad\u2019ducees coming for baptism, he said to them, \u201cYou brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit that befits repentance, 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, \u2018We have Abraham as our father\u2019; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.<\/em><\/p>\n

He announces the Messiah<\/strong><\/p>\n

11 \u201cI baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

EXPLANATION<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn those days<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This Old Testament expression indicates the beginning of a new period in history. This new period, probably beginning about 26 A.D., is that of Jesus\u2019 public ministry.<\/p>\n

\u201ccame John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea<\/em>,\u201d \u2014 John is a man of the wilderness and harshness of living standards. This initial remark indicates that he is a prophet and this will be elaborated on in the next verses and in subsequent chapters. His greatness will be declared by Jesus when he says, \u201cTruly I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist<\/em>\u201d (Mt. 11: 11).<\/p>\n

This \u201cwilderness<\/em>\u201d was between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. A wilderness does not necessarily mean a desert. This one was an area of sparse growth and little rain. However, in this context it recalls the Exodus when God\u2019s Chosen People wandered for forty years in the wilderness until they entered the Promised Land formed as God\u2019s own people.<\/p>\n

\u2018Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand<\/em>.\u2019 \u2014 Jesus will be quoted using these exact words in Mt. 4: 17. As the words at the beginning and the end are identical they form an inclusio<\/em>, a literary style that points out that what is written between them is intimately linked with these words. What is contained in this case is Jesus\u2019 baptism by John (Mt. 3: 13-17), his temptations by the devil (Mt. 4: 1-11) and his leaving Nazareth to be centered in Capernaum (Mt. 4: 12-17). He has made his outward commitment, which is accepting baptism, his conquering of Satan in his temptations and moved to his new centre. He has shown that he has given himself over completely and entirely to his Father\u2019s work. Only now will he utter his first words to people and work miracles. Indeed, his first sentence will be this sentence of John the Baptist, which was John\u2019s first also.<\/p>\n

\u2018Repent<\/em>\u2019 \u2014 This most important biblical word means to turn one\u2019s life around in a major change of lifestyle or behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kingdom of heaven<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Matthew refers to this kingdom 32 times in his Gospel. He equates it with the subject of the Good News and calls it \u201cthe Gospel of the Kingdom<\/em>\u201d, \u201cthe Gospel of God<\/em>\u201d. It does not refer to an earthly area nor to the people or subjects who would populate a kingdom but to God\u2019s kingship or kingly rule, his sovereignty, his reign. It is not the work of people\u2019s hands. People share in it by God\u2019s gift. To show that they wish to do so they must change their purely human lifestyles to one worthy of God.<\/p>\n

Matthew uses the expression \u201ckingdom of heaven<\/em>\u201d while Mark and Luke use \u201ckingdom<\/em> of God<\/em>\u201d. Matthew\u2019s reason for using \u201cheaven<\/em>\u201d rather than \u201cGod<\/em>\u201d was his reverence for the word \u201cGod<\/em>\u201d which he did not wish to disrespect in even the slightest manner.<\/p>\n

\u2018for the kingdom of heaven is at hand<\/em>.\u2019 \u2014 This is why people are to repent.<\/p>\n

This verse tells us the first piece of information about who John the Baptist is: he is a preacher, like a herald or town clerk announcing that people are to change their lives because the reign of God is about to commence and they are to be prepared to accept it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, \u201cThe voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.\u201d 4 Now John wore a garment of camel\u2019s hair, and a leather girdle around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, \u2018The voice of one crying in the wilderness:<\/em>\u201d \u2014 John the Baptist is \u201cthe voice\u2026 in the wilderness<\/em>\u201d. He comes to announce; he is not the one who is to come but precedes this one.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 Jesus is \u201cthe Lord<\/em>\u201d whose coming has to be prepared for.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow John wore a garment of camel\u2019s hair, and a leather girdle around his waist;<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This was the attire of Elijah the prophet (2 Kgs. 1: 8). Later Matthew will quote Jesus as saying about John, \u201cIf you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come<\/em>\u201d (Mt. 11; 14). Later we read, \u201cAnd the disciples asked him, \u2018Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?\u2019 He replied, \u2018Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.\u2019 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.<\/em>\u201d (Mt. 17: 10-13).<\/p>\n

John is a prophet as shown in two ways: he fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah and he was like Elijah the great Old Testament prophet who was to return before the advent of the Messiah.<\/p>\n

\u201cand his food was locusts and wild honey<\/em>.\u201d \u2014 This food could be found in the wilderness without any physical preparation such as planting and reaping. It was common among the poor and is mentioned as food eaten by Samson who fought against injustice and oppression.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThen went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan<\/em>,\u201d \u2014 The \u201call<\/em>\u201d is implied with Jerusalem and is used of both other areas which gives an indication of John\u2019s impact on the people of his time.<\/p>\n

\u201cand they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins<\/em>.\u201d \u2014 Accepting baptism and confessing sins indicated that those who did so were repentant (see v. 2).<\/p>\n

\u201cbaptized<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Because it was a submerging in and being covered over by and, indeed, overcome by water, baptism symbolized \u201cdrowning\u201d. It was, therefore, a sign of death. That was its first symbolism. The second part of the symbolism came from the fact that John baptized in the River Jordan. The Jordan was the last obstacle the Israelites had to overcome on the exodus to the Promised Land. They passed through this river as they had passed through the Red Sea. This river became their sign of new life. John\u2019s baptism was a double sign: a sign of death to the old way of living and a sign of a new way of living. It did not wash away sins. It was meant to indicate a person prepared internally and externally for the imminent coming of the promised Messiah, the Christ.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sad\u2019ducees coming for baptism, he said to them, \u201cYou brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit that befits repentance, 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, \u2018We have Abraham as our father\u2019; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBut when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sad\u2019ducees<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The Pharisees, the \u2018separated ones\u2019, were laymen who were represented in the Sanhedrin, the central council of the Jewish religion, comprising priests and laymen. They led the war of independence in 186-183 B.C. They were particularly strong in promoting the externals of the Law. Matthew portrays them as the major opponents of Jesus. After the first century A.D. their power had disappeared.<\/p>\n

The Sadducees, the \u2018just ones\u2019, were members of the leading high-priestly families, the aristocracy. They belonged to the Sanhedrin which had been established by the Romans to administer Jewish affairs. They were strong opponents of Jesus. After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. their power and influence disappeared.<\/p>\n

\u201ccoming for baptism\u201d<\/em> \u2014 They regarded themselves as being so religious and good that they did not need to make such a commitment. They came because they did not wish to be seen as ignoring John who was so popular among the people. John will accuse them of being insincere. The others mentioned in the previous verse were sincere.<\/p>\n

\u201che said to them, \u2018You brood of vipers!<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Vipers were poisonous snakes whose bite was fatal. John calls the Pharisees and Sadducees offspring or children of the devil who was so \u2018poisonous\u2019. They regarded themselves as the epitome of perfect religion, the children of Abraham; John does not! He declares them to be inherently evil. (See Mt. 12: 34-37; 23: 3-36 where they are described as so evil they will be condemned to hell.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWho warned you to flee from the wrath to come?<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The \u201cwrath to come<\/em>\u201d is God\u2019s punishment. This \u201cwrath to come<\/em>\u201d is referred to as \u201ccondemnation<\/em>\u201d and \u201chell<\/em>\u201d in the last two above references to Matthew 12 and 23.<\/p>\n

The idea of a final judgement is much stronger in the New Testament than in the Old.<\/p>\n

This is the first of three warnings that John gives to the Pharisees and Sadducees in verses 7-10.<\/p>\n

\u201cBear fruit that befits repentance<\/em>\u201d \u2014 John tells the Pharisees and Sadducees that they are to be sincere and act like people who have undergone a change in lifestyle. Baptism without a change in lifestyle has no effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cand do not presume to say to yourselves, \u2018We have Abraham as our father\u2019;<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Relationship with Abraham without repentance does not bring about salvation. Abraham\u2019s children are like him, faithful and God-centered. It is a common idea that \u201cGod has favourites\u201d, even though the opposite is repeated frequently in the Bible: he has not. One\u2019s hereditary or genealogical line has no extra influence on God; one is judged on one\u2019s own life.<\/p>\n

This is the second of the three warnings that John gives to the Pharisees and Sadducees.<\/p>\n

\u201cfor I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham<\/em>.\u201d \u2014 The meaning is that if they claim to be children of Abraham they should not presume that Abraham needs them. God can raise up other numerous children who are not descendant from Abraham but created from stones. The reason why \u201cstones\u201d was chosen here is that there is a play on the Hebrew words for \u201cstones<\/em>\u201d and \u201cchildren<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire<\/em>.\u201d \u2014 Just as trees that do not bear good fruit are cut down by an axe, so people who do not repent and change their lifestyle, producing virtuous works, will be cut down and destroyed (Mt. 7: 19).<\/p>\n

This is the third of the three warnings that John gives to the Pharisees and Sadducees.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

11 \u201cI baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI baptize you with water for repentance<\/em>\u201d \u2014 John will now show that Jesus is superior to him in every way. He gives three examples.<\/p>\n

(i) John\u2019s baptism with water was an external cleansing and simply a non-permanent symbol of the recipient being prepared to repent and cease sinning. It was not a sacrament, whose results are permanent. Nor was it established by Jesus.<\/p>\n

(ii) \u201cbut he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry;<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Carrying the master\u2019s sandals was the responsibility of the slave; John was not worthy to do even that work of a slave.<\/p>\n

(iii) \u201che will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire<\/em>.\u201d \u2014 To be submerged or overcome with the Holy Spirit means to become a new creation with new life.<\/p>\n

\u201cFire<\/em>\u201d, like water, cleansed and refined. To be baptised with fire means to be judged and punished \u201cwith unquenchable fire<\/em>\u201d of hell (verse 12).<\/p>\n

\u201cHis winnowing fork is in his hand<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The farmer used this instrument to throw the grain and chaff into the air and they were separated by the wind. The grains of wheat fell down on the floor while the chaff was blown some distance away.<\/p>\n

\u201cand he will clear his threshing floor<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The \u201cthreshing floor<\/em>\u201d was the surface on which this operation took place and on which the grains of wheat fell.<\/p>\n

\u201cand gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire<\/em>.\u201d \u2014 \u201cChaff<\/em>\u201d is useless and cannot be used for anything. Those who cannot do what is really necessary, which is to give God his due, are useless and punishable.<\/p>\n

In these last two verses John has announced the promise of the Messiah in the person of Jesus. He will expand it later, \u201cWhen John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, \u2018Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?\u2019 Jesus answered them, \u2018Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me<\/em>.\u2019\u201d (Mt. 11: 2-6).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

APPLICATION<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This Sunday\u2019s Gospel passage gives us the important and impatient voice of the last of the Old Testament prophets appealing to us to repent, to change our way of living, to change our heart and its desires as the controlling way of our lives. He calls us to conversion which in practice means to repentance. To realise how important the message is we need to recall that it comes straight from God himself. God became man because he loves us, saw how the world was far from him and we were not serious about our relationship with him.<\/p>\n

There were two groups of people in John\u2019s day who thought that they epitomized the perfect models of true religion. They set themselves up as the best of those who practised religion. John had another idea of them and he did not hesitate to let them know. He saw them as hypocrites poisoning those around them. We have to beware of the modern Pharisees and Sadducees and also that we are not among their ranks.<\/p>\n

John did bring people into the waters of the river Jordan and submerge them. That \u2018baptism\u2019 was the symbol of repentance which is why it is called a \u201cbaptism of repentance<\/em>\u201d, a pledge or commitment to change one\u2019s heart, mind, lifestyle, and implement a new way of living.<\/p>\n

Blessed John Cardinal Newman is much quoted and, perhaps, one of his best known sayings is \u201cHere on earth to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed frequently\u201d. To change is to be understood as to be repentant: an intimate change of heart. The book of Revelation says, \u201cI know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Repentance demands effort, courage and perseverance. It is not easy. If we could come to realise that the love God has for us is better and certainly more promising for the future than sinfulness. Sincere prayer can be the great help here. Today\u2019s Gospel reading gives us the divine promise \u2014 Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, will give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, \u201che will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire<\/em>\u201d. This fire of the Holy Spirit cleanses and purifies us and sets us aflame with the fire of God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n

Our eternity with Jesus who gave his life for us depends on us alone now. He seeks us. We must seek him. As C.S. Lewis said, \u201cGod created us without consent but He will not save us unless we consent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pope John Paul II appealed so frequently, \u201cOpen the doors to Christ!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TEXT: Matthew 03: 1\u201312 John the Baptist appears 1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d He is a prophet 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, \u201cThe voice of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6083"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8437,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6083\/revisions\/8437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}