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John the Baptist prepares the way for Christ

The Old Testament and Gospel readings today mention two realities that might not appear, at first glance, to have a direct connection to the Christmas story: repentance and judgment.

The prophet Isaiah, in foreseeing the coming of a new and powerful "root of Jesse," writes that this perfect king "shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked." Likewise, John the Baptist, the cousin of the Christ, promises fire and destruction for those who do not repent and acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, crying out: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

The Jesuit Scripture scholar Jean Daniélou, in The Advent of Salvation, writes, "Since the coming of Christ goes on forever–He is always He who is to come in the world and in the Church–there is always an Advent going on, and this Advent is filled by John the Baptist. . . . He it is who hastens the coming of Christ by sending out his resounding call to repentance, to conversion; and the power of his call makes men ready for Christ to come to them."

These readings from Isaiah and Matthew’s Gospel are striking reminders of the need to be prepared to meet Christ at Christmas. Advent is an ideal time for Confession, a season for conversion and renewal of mind, and a time to prepare the way for the Lord in our hearts as Christmas approaches. By dying to ourselves, we open the way for the birth of the Savior. In the word of the Catechism: "By celebrating [John the Baptist’s] birth and martyrdom , the Church unites herself to his desire: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’" (CCC 524).