Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Matthew 3: 1-12
December  7, 2025 | Sunday

Today’s Gospel

In the course of time, John the Baptist appeared in the desert of Judea and began to proclaim his message: “Change your ways; the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was about him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice is shouting in the desert, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord; make his paths straight!’

John had a leather garment around his waist and wore a cloak of camel’s hair; his food was locusts and wild honey. People came to him from Jerusalem, from all Judea and from the whole Jordan valley, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan, as they confessed their sins.

When he saw several Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he baptized, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who told you that you could escape the punishment that is to come? Let it be seen that you are serious in your conversion; and do not think: We have Abraham for our father. I tell you, that God can raise children for Abraham from these stones! The ax is already laid to the roots of the trees; any tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.

I baptize you in water for a change of heart, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I am; indeed, I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He has the winnowing fan in his hand; and he will clear out his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff, he will burn in inextinguishable fire.”

Today’s Reflection

In this Advent season, the Gospel Reading resonates with John’s exhortation to prepare for the coming of the Lord through repentance. Repentance, in this context, is not just about feeling sorry for past sins but a call for a radical turning away from our sinful ways, such as addictions and disordered attachments. These sinful ways hinder our total happiness and fulfillment in life.

So that we may truly repent or change our lives for the better, John the Baptist instructs us to go to the wilderness (Mt 3:3b). The term wilderness in Isaiah to which John refers (Is 40:3) could signify the human heart, in particular, the heart in the Hebraic sense conveyed by the Hebrew word “lev” ( ). Lev denotes the totality and depth of oneself: “All your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut 6:5). John wants us to go into the innermost recesses or the deepest part of ourselves. Doing so can be discomforting. It can even be frightening because there are always unpleasant areas in our lives that we would rather avoid than confront.

A profound transformation of our sinfulness and destructive addictions is possible only when we confront the uncomfortable truths that lie repressed in the depths of our minds and hearts. These uncomfortable truths encompass our deep-seated hurts, regrets, hatreds, and other unresolved and painful experiences that negatively impact our relationships. For instance, a bitter or chronically negative person may have deep-seated issues they prefer to ignore. These are the issues that John the Baptist urges us to face directly as an essential step towards true repentance. Our deep understanding of these issues will initiate our gradual healing, leading to our true repentance or our radical turning away from sins and turning towards the Lord.

/Vulnerasti, 2025