HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A Isaiah 11:1-10 /Psalm 72/ Romans 15:4-9/ Matthew 3:1-12

HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A
Isaiah 11:1-10 /Psalm 72/ Romans 15:4-9/ Matthew 3:1-12


Agorsor Aaron Agbeshie

Theme: The joy of Christian Hope

Don’t give up loving. Don’t give up your goodness even if people around you sting. God desires “Steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than the burnt offering” (Hosea 3:6). Though we are sinners, God does not treat us the way we should be or the way we deserve, or the way that is just. God treats us with loving kindness, steadfast love. This is His nature. “Hope will not fail us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Spirit has given to us” (Romans 5:5). The readings of today offer every Christian hope and an opportunity to repent.
In the First Reading, Isaiah prophesies judgment against Judah. Judah thinks itself safe because of its covenant relationship with God. However, God tells Judah (through Isaiah) that the covenant cannot protect them when they have broken it by the worship of other gods and by acts of injustice and cruelty, which oppose God's law. At the same time, he offers hope to Israel when he prophesies about the coming of the Messiah who will judge with integrity.
Indeed, the prophet did not mince words when he said that the Messiah “Shall not judge by what his eyes sees or decide by what his ears hears but with righteousness, he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth…” (Isaiah 11:3-4).
The Jews pride themselves in the fact that they are the chosen people of God. However, they remain insincere in the worship of God. Judgment awaits all who think that they can serve two masters. The judgment that awaits each one of us is no respecter of persons. It does not consider status, accomplishment, successes and the like. Judgment cannot be bought with money like how people are buying justice in Ghana. The only collateral for escaping the wrath of God is repentance.
Christians are called to be men and women of integrity, sincerity and honesty. This is because he who judges, judges with integrity.
When we live a life of integrity and sincerity, our peace will be like a river and our righteousness like the waves of the sea .This is the kind of peace that Isaiah draws our attention to today; that peace that enables men and women, rich and poor, the powerful the vulnerable and susceptible to live together. The Prophet says that “The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid… the nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea ” (Isaiah 11:6,8-9).
John in the Gospel Reading, like the Prophet Isaiah, offers hope to sinners like us in the midst of God’s judgment. For instance when the Baptist saw the Pharisees and Sadducees stepping forward for baptism, he said to them “You brood of vipers! Who told you to flee from the wrath to come? Give some evidence of that you mean to reform. Do not pride yourselves on the claim, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children of Abraham from these very stones” (Matthew 3:7-9).
John’s concern transcends the traditional view that one acquires knowledge of God by one’s birth into Israel. No, one does not become an heir to the promises made to Abraham just by birth. One must know the Lord personally that is, to do his will. Therefore, salvation is a choice. Our parents may have baptised us while we were infants, we may have received the Sacraments of Christian Initiation namely Baptism, Holy Eucharist, and Confirmation. We might have even held responsible positions in the Church. Today, John tells all of us that what is necessary for salvation is repentance.
John not only proclaims the coming of the reign of God, but the coming of the person of Jesus. In this proclamation, he surpasses all his prophetic predecessors. John’s Baptism fulfilled two purposes namely: it prepared the nation for Christ and it presented Christ to the nation. John mentions two other baptisms: a baptism of the Spirit and a baptism of fire (cf Matt.3:11). The Baptism of the Holy Spirit took place at Pentecost. In contrast, baptism of fire refers to the future judgment at the Parousia. This means that whenever we are baptised, we are baptised into the Holy Spirit and by extension, we are liable to judgment at the end of time.
In the Second Reading, Paul gives us one practical example of true repentance namely living in harmony with one another. For he says “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another…” (Romans 15:5). Paul believes that we cannot worship God in a conflict prone community. We cannot worship God in an environment in which people do not feel accepted and loved.
Sin is the only thing that can wound our relationship with God. Insincerity hurts human relations and for the people of Israel, it has hurt their relationship with their maker. We are called to be sincere because sincerity is that light of the mind in which nothing remains unclear. Insincerity is that darkness of the mind in which a man strays away from the right path. Let us be sincere. A person who is sincere cannot be deceived. Only that person can be deceived whose heart is unclear.
In sum, both the Prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist offer every Christian hope. But we can only share in this hope when we repent of our sins. This is what this season of Advent offers each and every one of us. Let us celebrate our calling as Christians because God’s calling and choice of us are irrevocable ( cf Romans 11:29).