THE WORD
FIRST READING: Is 11,1-10
On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
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.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide fairly for the land’s affl icted.
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.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
together their young shall lie down;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the viper’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be fi lled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the peoples—
Him the nations will seek out;
his dwelling shall be glorious.
SECOND READING: Rm 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. 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. 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.”
GOSPEL: Mt 3,1-12
In those days 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 fi re.
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.”
IN OTHER WORDS
John the Baptist cuts a most fascinating gure. He is undoubtedly unafraid and tough as depicted by Matthew the Evangelist. The words used to describe him bear this out—residence: desert; attire: camel’s hair with buckskin belt; food: locusts and wild honey; occupation: Desert “umalohokan” (crier) and baptizer; favourite metaphors: ax, winnowing fan, unquenchable re. His favourite expletive? “You brood of vipers!” Wow! To call the Pharisees and Sadducees “brood of vipers” is simply audacious. They are the most powerful order of men in Judea. In those times,no one dared to go up against them, as they could make one’s life miserable. They could even put someone to death, as they did to Jesus, John’s cousin.
Did Jesus copy John’s colorful language in dealing with the Pharisees, the lawyers, and the chief priests? The former also called them “snakes” and “sons of snakes.” (Mt. 23: 33). Although John the Baptist was a tough man who did not suffer fools gladly, he was a most humble person. “I am not worthy to carry his sandals,” he declared when he spoke of Jesus.
In the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, the lowly job of a slave is described as follows. “He buckles master’s shoes, unlooses his shoes, carries them before him to the bath.” Unloosing a master’s shoes is so servile a task that only a slave does it. Note that John admitted that he was not even worthy to do it for Jesus.
There is another biblical meaning of the act of wearing and untying sandals. The Old Testament makes references to this practice: he who wears the sandals has the right over the wife. Put another way, it is the Bridegroom who wears the sandals because he has the right over her.
Now, John the Baptist knew this. He knew that Jesus was the Bridegroom of Israel, not he. And that explains why he declared that “there is a man who comes after me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
In this season of advent, let us emulate John in his humility. For a humble heart is the best place to receive the Lord when He comes on Christmas Day.
- Fr. Raymun J. Festin, SVD | Christ the King Seminary
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
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Production : Fr. Carlos Maria de Guzman, Jr., SVD and Staff of Logos Publications |
| Cover Design : Malou E. Domingo |
| Liturgical Calendar : Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD |
| Production Consultant : Fr. Gerardo del Pinado, SVD |
| Scriptural Texts : New American Bible and Daily Roman Missal |
| Cover artwork based on photos by Fr. Bar Fabella, SVD |
| Published by : Logos Publications, Inc. 1916 Oroquieta St., Sta. Cruz, Manila |
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