The Second Sunday of Advent - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 

Matthew 3:1-12, December 7, 2025 – Advent 2

Last week, when we lit the first candle in Advent, our texts were about watchfulness and readiness. We were called to stay awake because no one knows the day or hour when the Son of Man will come in glory. Today, we light the second candle, and our texts focus on repentance and preparation.

It’s been 400 years since Israel has been without a prophet, as God had promised. The people are living under Roman occupation. They feel left behind by God. They are waiting for God’s promise to release them from their political bondage. Life is not as they expected.

John the Baptist was a unique man. He wore clothing made of camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey. He had a sharp tongue and told people like it was. He’s in Judea, near the Jordan River, and he shouts, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” His tone says, “Wake up, people! Be ready! God’s reign is here. This is what we’ve been waiting for. The King is arriving.”

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” What do you think John meant when he said “repent?” I think we put a lot of guilt and shame on that word. We often think that repentance is “I messed up. I have to feel bad about it.” There’s a negative connotation to the word. The Greek word for “repentance” that is translated from in this text is “metanoia,” which means “to turn around,” to “start over,” or to “live a new way.” There’s hope in the word “repent.”

While there is hope, there is also urgency. “Wake up, people; not tomorrow, not next week. Live a new way today.” Repentance is about changing our behavior, not feeling guilty for past behavior - today.

Imagine you’re a doctor in the ER. A patient comes in with severe burns on his hand. You treat the injury by wrapping the hand, and when the patient leaves, you give him clear instructions: “Do not use the stove again until your injury is gone.” The patient says, “Yes, doctor. I will be more careful.”

A week later, the patient is back. He’s burned the same hand, but this time it’s even worse than before. You ask, “Did you touch the stove again?” The patient says, “Yes, but I didn’t mean to. I was really tired. My kitchen is set up in a weird way.” The patient spits out every excuse he can think of.

Here’s the problem with the patient. His problem isn’t that he doesn’t regret doing it. He sounds sincere in his words. I don’t think someone would intentionally put their hand on the hot burner of the stove, especially when they had done it once before and already endured the pain. So, the problem is not regret. The problem is that he didn’t change his behavior. His words sound sincere, but his hand tells the story.

John the Baptist says, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” He’s not telling the people to feel sorry about how they are living their lives. He’s telling them to change their lives. He’s telling them to “bear fruit.” When we bear fruit, we can visibly see the change. When we repent, we don’t touch the hot stove again.

On paper, it seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? What gets in the way of our repentance? We had a great discussion about this on Wednesday at the Healing Service. The group said that sometimes it’s self-pity, ego, and pride that get in the way. In self-pity, we would say, “You just don’t know how hard it is to avoid the stove.” In ego, we would say, “I’ll manage it better next time.” In pride, we would say, “I shouldn’t have to rearrange my kitchen so that I don’t burn my hand on the stove.”

Someone in the Wednesday group said that what we need to turn away from can sometimes be a source of energy for us, so we don’t want to let it go, but what we don’t realize is that there is energy in the turning away, too. That energy in the turning away is the fruit John the Baptist was talking about.

“Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” I love our text from Isaiah today. It describes a world totally reordered and turned around. Violence is replaced by peace, domination by justice, and fear by trust. These things all start with us turning away from our old habits.

In Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” he writes, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both…” “…I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Choosing one road means not choosing the other. We can’t take both roads. We can’t stay on the same road and get to a different destination. It’s not about intention or regret. It’s about which road we choose. If the direction doesn’t change, repentance doesn’t happen.

With our repentance, John promises that something new has begun. We get to live in and share in the world written in Isaiah 11. Repentance changes our relationship with God.

Today, in Advent, we hear a voice in the wilderness telling us to “repent.” That voice is telling us that today, we are not waiting for a baby in a manger. We are preparing for the Son of Man. While we get caught up in the preparations for Christmas, we have to remember to change direction. Repentance doesn’t bring Christ. Christ is already here. Repentance makes room for Christ in our hearts.

As we prepare for the coming of the Son of Man, may you have the courage to turn from whatever crowds your heart, humility to let go of what you cling to, and the grace to make room for Christ’s reign among us. Amen.