2nd Sunday Advent / John the Baptize
     Is 11:1-10/ Ps 72/ Rom 15:4-9/ Mt. 3:1-12
  Introduction
 

         Sometimes we focus so much on door locks and we failed to see that hinges are equally important too. They hold the door on one side and hold the wall on the other side. If hinge is weak, the whole door will collapse. Then the security of the house is at stake. When somebody wants to destroy a door all the pressure and weight are pressed upon the hinges. It has to be strong and firm so that it can stand when the pressure calls for it.

  
  Background
 
  1. John was like a “biblical hinge” that takes the pressure of connecting the Old and the New Testaments. Like a hinge he has two faces: he was considered the “last prophet” in the Old Testament and the “first prophet” in the New Testament. In today’s first reading, Isaiah called him: “the voice crying in the desert” simply because the whole nation of Israel was in the “desert.” There was no prophet for hundred of years until John came. After those long years of waiting, they finally heard the Word of God again, through the voice of John. He lived “before” Christ and He lived “with” Christ. He deserved to be called the “inter-testamental” prophet.

  2. John was the most popular prophet that time. He had his own group of disciples. Many people all over Jordan came to him to be baptized. But in his greatness he did not forget to tell the people who he was. He always reminds them that he was not the Messiah and he was not even worthy to carry his sandals. Humility is like a compass, it tells the about your true location in reference to a certain point. It helps us to know who we are and where we are. With it we can see things in the right perspective. John did not only teach humility he live by it.
  3. To the Jews, Abraham was unique. So unique that his merits sufficed not only for himself but for all his descendants as well. He had built up a treasury of merits that none of his descendants could ever exhaust. So every Jew believed that a Jew is simply saved because he was a Jew, and not for any merits of his own at all. He was safe for the life to come. When the Pharisees and Sadducees went to John and claimed that they were sons of Abraham so they deserve to be saved. John warned the people against their hypocrisy. For John, coming to him to be baptized and claiming to be the sons of Abraham would not guarantee their salvation.  What they need first was a conversion of heart, a change of heart deep within.
 
  Reflection:  
 
  1. Total transformation in a person is not automatically guaranteed by a mere reception of sacraments. We have to use those graces well and exert extra effort to change our life. When my bishop laid his hand on me in my ordination, it does not automatically change me into a good and holy priest. When I was ordained my bishop reminded me that my being a priest and a religious does not guarantee my salvation. I still need to pray harder to remain faithful to God. We too, being Christians and being Catholics, do not automatically guarantee heaven. It is in our efforts to put them into our actual life and make these graces works in our souls that matters most.

  2. John in his popularity was never tempted to put all the credits to himself. He always humbles himself, and points to Christ as the real Messiah. We sometimes hit a good break in our life, and that’s good. But when a student gets A+, or an employer could have instant promotion into a top executive post. We can acknowledge our own personal efforts gaining all these promotions, but all these credits must not point to ourselves alone but to Christ. As we end the year, and we count all our blessings in life, we must remember to thank that powerful Someone who gave all these blessings to us, as a gift of love.

  3. Like any hard metal door hinges, John has to be strong and firm with his convictions to meet the expectations of his own people who looked up to him with great hope. He showed it when he expressed himself directly against Pharisees and Sadducees. Also when John learned about King Herod’s adulterous relationship with Herodias, his wife’s brother, he reprimanded the king, even if it costs his own head. The church must be a strong hinge that connects different sectors of the society. When pushed too hard with by different forces in the society, but it must remain strong and firm. When a certain country would legally allow abortion, the church should not be silenced nor be threatened by the pressures of the state. Every Christian should be firm with his convictions for “pro-life stand. We Christians should be the light and the salt of the earth. If the church is never tired of telling the people what is morally wrong, then the parents should also have the courage to talk with their kids and encourage them to make a stand for what is right.
 
  Conclusion  
            Like a hinge, we should also know how to take pressures in life. They say that the measure of man’s maturity is “stability under pressure.” It is when we have so much problems and trials in life that “doors of our life” swing beyond control, that we should maintain a strong “hinge of faith” in God.  It is the moment that we have to remain connected to the “walls of God’s love” and remain with Him at all more.