Our readings today for the Second Sunday of Advent present us with two dramatically different images of trees. In the first reading from Isaiah 11:1-10 the prophet tells us about a shoot sprouting from the stump of Jesse (King David’s father). This shoot will blossom into a new Davidic King upon whom the Spirit of the Lord will rest imbuing the new king with the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. The new king will rule over a glorious kingdom where peace and justice will prevail.
Fast forward seven hundred years or so to St Matthew’s gospel as he introduces us to John the Baptist, Matthew 3:1-12. In a confrontation with the Pharisees and Sadducees John the Baptist likens them to a “brood of vipers” and he chastises them because they do not produce “good fruit.” He compares them to trees with an ax at their roots. And he tells them and reminds us that “every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” So what constitutes good fruit? In Galatians 5:22-23 St. Paul describes the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” Without these qualities our lives are bleak.
It takes time, discipline and patience to produce good fruit. It doesn’t just happen. It has to overcome weather, bugs, weeds, poor soil and neglect. The land has to be tilled, the bugs sprayed, the weeds pulled, the trees nourished and pruned. There is no way we can manufacture the fruit of the Spirit on our own. We need scripture and the Eucharist to nourish us. We need the Sacrament of Reconciliation to pull out the weeds of our sin and we need the Holy Spirit to prune away whatever it is that hinders our growth and then empower us to make the choices that move us closer to that glorious kingdom Isaiah described in the first reading.
On this Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist calls us to repent with sincere hearts and to produce good fruit as evidence of our repentance. The Prophet Jeremiah said, "Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh to rely on. Such a person is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, its foliage stays green; untroubled in a year of drought, it never stops bearing fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Stir up within us,
O God of peace and mercy,
a sincere desire for repentance,
that, baptized with the Holy Spirit
and enkindled by the fire of your love,
we may bring to every situation
the justice, gentleness and peace
that the incarnation of your Word
has caused to sprout and blossom upon the earth.
Grant this through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
AMEN
