Second Sunday of Advent (Year A)

 Second Sunday of Advent December 07, 2025

Isaiah 11:1-10   Romans 15:4-9   Matthew 3:1-12

(Image courtesy: Google)

A few years ago, a newspaper columnist reported on an unusual programme. It dealt with removing unwanted tattoos -especially gang-related tattoos -from the bodies of young people. A surprising thing happened after the column appeared. Over a thousand letters flooded in from young people all over the country, asking more about the programme. Because of this remarkable response, the Los Angeles School District and a local cable television company produced a film called Un-tattoo You. It warned of the dangers of amateur tattooing and demonstrated the difficulty of removing small tattoos from arms and faces, as well as larger tattoos from chests and backs. The stars of the film were young people themselves. They talked frankly about why they were tattooed in the first place and why they now wanted the tattoos removed. The film eventually won a national award and was distributed throughout the country.

The season of Advent places us on a spiritual journey. It is not simply a countdown to Christmas but a sacred time to awaken, to prepare, and to turn our lives toward the One who is coming. Today, on the Second Sunday of Advent, the liturgy focuses not so much on the when of Christ’s coming but on the who we are becoming as we wait. The readings call us to conversion, transformation, and hope. They remind us that Advent is not passive. It is an active preparation of the heart. 

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah paints a beautiful image of hope: “A shoot shall spring from the stump of Jesse.” A stump normally symbolizes an ending. It is the reminder of something that once stood tall but has now been cut down. Yet Isaiah sees life growing from what appears to be dead. A fragile shoot, small and tender, emerges from the dryness and begins a new story. It is his promise that God’s grace has the power to bring rebirth where we see only ruin, resilience where we see exhaustion, and hope where we see disappointment. Many people today feel like that stump, worn down by life, hurt by relationships, weighed down by sin, or spiritually reduced to dryness. But God promises that from even the smallest opening of faith, something new and beautiful can grow.

Then the Gospel introduces us to John the Baptist, a dramatic and uncompromising prophet. He bursts onto the scene like a trumpet blast, calling everyone to conversion. His message is clear and urgent: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Advent cannot simply be a time of decoration, shopping, or nostalgia. It must be a time of change. John speaks not about superficial adjustments but a turning of the heart. The Greek word metanoia means a deep inner shift, a reorientation of our entire self toward God.

John’s words cut sharply: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” If Jesus is to be born in us, something must change in us. Pride must lower itself so humility can rise. Hatred must be buried so forgiveness can sprout. Wounds must be opened to God so healing can begin. Attachments that chain us must be loosened so freedom can flourish. Advent preparation is not about perfection but about sincerity, an honest opening of the soul.

John also warns the Pharisees and Sadducees, not because they were sinners like everyone else, but because they were convinced they were not. Their danger was spiritual complacency, the belief that ancestry or religious titles were enough. John reminds them that being close to the temple does not mean being close to God. And the same applies today. We can attend Mass but with a distracted heart. We can carry a Bible without letting it shape our lives. We can pray words without allowing God to enter the deeper spaces of our soul. Advent calls us to authenticity.

So how do we live this Second Sunday of Advent?

First, let us awaken hope. Where something looks dead in our lives -faith, prayer, marriage, community, vocation. let us remember the tender shoot from the stump of Jesse. God can revive what we have given up on. Let this week be a week of hope.

Second, let us act with intention. Advent is a time to take small, concrete steps: a moment of prayer each morning, a phone call to reconcile, a visit to someone lonely, a decision to cut off a harmful habit, more patience in family life, more silence to hear God. Every small movement of the heart prepares the way of the Lord. It is a time for us to un-tattoo our hearts. 

Third, let us desire peace. The Messiah comes to build harmony. Let us choose peace over argument, dialogue over pride, kindness over harshness, generosity over selfishness. If Christ is truly coming, then peace must be our preparation.

Finally, let us remember that Advent is not just about preparing for the baby Jesus at Bethlehem. It is also about preparing for the risen Lord who will return in glory. And beyond that, it is about allowing Christ to be born today in the human heart. Christ does not wish to be remembered. He wishes to be received.

As we step into the second week of Advent, let us ask for the grace to prepare not only our homes but our hearts. May the Lord find in us not a desert but a garden, not resistance but welcome, not fear but trust. And when Christmas comes, let it not be only a date on the calendar, but a new beginning in each of us.

Happy Sunday