Sermon Advent II, 7 December 2025
Readings Isaiah 11.1-10, Romans 15. 4-13, Matthew 3.1-12
Theme: Prepare the Way
On this second Sunday of Advent we are especially looking forward to celebrating our annual Carol Service at San Pedro. This activity of singing carols is a lovely tradition that no doubt reminds us of many previous occasions of doing this. It is an interesting fact to note that psychologists have done studies on the singing of carols and have found that engaging in this activity in a group is a way to manage stress and to exercise in a positive manner our emotions. There is also often a nostalgic dimension to this as we remember times and places that were important to us in our younger lives. So, all in all, it is a wonderful and healthy thing to do and we are privileged to be able to do it together in our chaplaincy. Sotogrande will celebrate its Carol Service next Sunday on 14 December and that is also a wonderful occasion of welcoming newcomers to our chaplaincy.
We should also remember, however, that singing carols can bring up some difficult memories for people. The memories of the loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship, the moving from a much loved house or area, can all come to the surface as we sing. The emotions have their own life and memories and emotions are often closely associated with each other. So, as we celebrate this wonderful time of the year in Advent, it is important for us to focus on its core message lest we are taken off piste by difficult emotions, the consumerist side of things, or simply nostalgia for former times. Key to keeping focused is being attentive to the various characters which the Scripture introduces us to each week in this Advent season. They each have their lessons to teach us.
This Sunday’s readings introduce us to the figure of John the Baptist. He is the forerunner of Jesus, the one who announces that the kingdom of heaven is near and that now is the time of repentance. This theme of preparing the way of the Lord by repentance fulfills the Old Testament prophecies that the long-awaited Messiah would inaugurate ‘the day of Lord’ in which God’s righteousness will initiate the final reconciliation of peoples in the kingdom of heaven. This is why our Advent readings from the Gospel of Matthew are accompanied by the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, because the writings of the prophet Isaiah foretell of the redemption that will be brought by the God of Israel who will redeem Israel and set Jerusalem in its rightful place through the coming of a messianic ruler.
For us, as we bask in these beautiful readings each year during this wonderful time of Advent, the key lesson that we should take away is that this ‘day of the Lord’ is now. Jesus, the messianic ruler of Israel, has come and set his people free. But ‘his people’ is to be understood as more than the sons and daughters of Israel. As Saint Paul reminds us, we, the gentiles, have been included in the fulfillment of the long-awaited promises of God through adoption in his son. Though it is through the story of Israel that this message has been announced, it is a message for the whole world. God is the Lord of history who has set in motion the final fulfilment of the plans announced through the prophets, like Isaiah, to reconcile all peoples to himself. This kingdom of heaven which has come near to us is the descent of heaven to earth; an incarnation of the domain of God amongst the peoples of the earth. In Jesus, this descent has arrived in the flesh. God assumes our mortal frame, so that our flesh might assume God’s divine life through adoption.
As we live out our Christian faith in daily life, we begin to experience this transformation in the light of the faith which illumines our way. No longer are we groveling around lost in the darkness of sin, but we have been liberated to live for him, the one who sets us free. Yet, it is also important for us to realize that this liberation occurs often as a process throughout our lives and it can go into reverse. We can become disillusioned with ourselves and others and so turn back into the slavery of sin. An initial event of conversion, perhaps, may begin to seem to us like an illusion in later life, as critical and negative voices populate our channels of communication. As Saint Paul comments in his letter to the Galatians, for example, even though we may have once embraced the message we can gradually begin to listen to other voices which take us off the path. So, vigilance is required and the right amount of moral and spiritual effort in our Christian life is essential to ensure that we are keeping on the right path.
Therefore, as we prepare ourselves to receive the Lord anew in this festive season, let us prepare the way of the Lord by making his paths straight in our own lives. As with the fall of the leaves each year in the season of Autumn, this work requires a continual effort to keep the paths clean. Only when this work is maintained can we be hopeful that our paths are straight for the Lord’s coming to be full of joy for us in this Advent season.