Chapter Chaplain's Homily Reflection - BEAR FRUIT THAT BEFITS REPENTANCE

BEAR FRUIT THAT BEFITS REPENTANCE
As we enter the second Sunday of Advent, Isaiah, in the first reading, announces the birth of a future king. The kings before now were selfish and forgot the history of God’s activity in the lives of the people of Israel. In the previous verses of this chapter, God cuts down some lofty cedars in the forest (the pride of David’s royal house) that blocked their ability to see things God’s way. But from the stump of Jesse, David’s father, the prophet now sees a shoot emerging, representing an ideal successor in David’s line.
This ideal king will be different and usher in a new world order. What makes this new king so ideal is his total cooperation with the Spirit of God, exhibited by the gifts he receives from that Spirit. Appearances and hearsay will not sway this king, and his decisions will be guided by justice, peace, and righteousness. Jesus Christ, born of Mary, will fulfill all these prophecies and activities about the new king and the world order.
To buttress this, Isaiah turns to vivid images to impress on us the ideal nature of this king’s reign, in contrast with those of other kings before him. He considers the human community ruled by the kings of this world in terms of wolves and lambs, leopards and kids, lions and calves, bears and cows. He sees some of us as human wolves, leopards, and lions with intimidating powers and affluent political positions who lord over everyone and take advantage of the poor masses represented as lambs, goat kids, and calves. Beyond this chaotic community, Isaiah envisions a new world order in which enemies will live like friends, the powerful and the vulnerable, and the rich and the poor will dwell together as equals before God (11:6).
In the Gospel message of John, the Baptist appears in the wilderness to give a wake-up call to repentance that will usher in the anticipated transformation prophesied by Isaiah. He said to his audience: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.” Like the audience of John the Baptist, we are to prepare to receive the Lord by first acknowledging our sins and repenting from them. There is no true repentance without a proper awareness of what sin is and does to our relationship with God.
To those Jews who think that their parents’ familiarity with God is a fixed asset that will benefit them, John the Baptist warned them to desist from presuming a relationship with God. Like those Jews, some of us presume a relationship with God based on long familiarity but lack commitment. Some of us think that to be baptized, confirmed, and receive Holy Communion is enough to claim a relationship with God; others think that going only to Mass is okay without commitment. It is important to note today that God wants a one-on-one relationship that comes from a personal faith – not parents’ faith (Ezk 18:1-4); not friends’ faith (Matt. 25:1-13). He wants a relationship grounded in faithfulness to the Commandment.
So, it is not enough to claim repentance without concrete evidence of victory over sin to show for it. For instance: “I used to fight, but now I am at peace with all.” This is what John the Baptist calls “bearing fruit that befits repentance.” He knows we tend to confess our sins without being converted. But it is by our fruits that we show our conversion (Mt. 7:20), as it is by acknowledging and repenting from our sins that we realize the new community order of Isaiah. So, let us imagine the harmony we can create when all of us intentionally acknowledge and repent from our sins for Jesus’s coming and begin to bear fruit of righteousness (Gal. 5:22-23).

Fr. Imo

Chaplain 

Arrowhead Desert Valley Chapter