Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, 2025
Readings Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12
7 December 2025
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A couple of weeks ago, I was in Washington DC. It was the feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the liturgical year. As ever, there was much talk about President Trump, Gaza, Ukraine and Taiwan. I was wondering what would become of our world. What would become of us? And how will things be for your grandchildren? I was very taken with Paul’s arresting observation to the Colossians in the second reading on that day: ‘He exists before all things, and in him all things hold together’. (1:17) This is our hope – that in Jesus Christ all things hold together for us as believers. And as believers, we hope that in Jesus Christ all things will hold together in our world.
I then attended mass on Thanksgiving Day in California. I was very taken with the special preface the Americans have for Mass on that day: ‘You have entrusted to us the great gift of freedom, a gift that calls forth responsibility and commitment to the truth that all have a fundamental dignity before you’. Pope Leo had just commenced his journey to Turkiye and Lebanon. I was reflecting on what it could possibly mean in our complex world to have a commitment to the truth that every human person has a fundamental dignity before God. I was greatly helped by Leo’s address to the civic leaders in Turkiye in which he drew on the experience of Pope John XXIII who lived in Turkiye throughout the second world war. Leo said:
“I willingly assure you that Christians desire to contribute positively to the unity of your country. They are, and feel part of, Turkish identity, which was highly esteemed Saint John XXIII, whom you remember as the “Turkish Pope” for the deep friendship that always bound him to your people. He was Administrator of the Latin Vicariate of Istanbul and Apostolic Delegate in Türkiye and Greece from 1935 to 1945, and worked tirelessly to ensure that Catholics did not exclude themselves from the ongoing development of your new Republic. He wrote during those years, that here in this Nation, “we Latin Catholics of Istanbul, and Catholics of other rites, Armenian, Greek, Chaldean, Syrian etc., are a modest minority living on the surface of a vast world with which we have only limited contact. We like to distinguish ourselves from those who do not profess our faith: our Orthodox brothers, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, believers and non-believers of other religions… It seems logical that everyone should mind their own business, their own family or national traditions, keeping within the limited circle of their own community… My dear brothers and sisters, my dear children, I must tell you that in the light of the Gospel and of Catholic principles, this is a false logic.”
Leo went on to observe: ‘Since then, great strides have undoubtedly been made within the Church and in your society, yet those words still resonate strongly in our day, and continue to inspire a more evangelical and genuine way of thinking, which Pope Francis called the “culture of encounter”.’[1]
Now home on the second Sunday of Advent, our first reading is from the prophet Isaiah. The Chosen people have been devastated in war by the Assyrians. Initially, the poet writing this first part of Isaiah sees Assyria as an instrument of God calling the Chosen people to account. But then military victory goes to the heads of the Assyrians. And the Chosen people are struck mercilessly low. The cedars of Lebanon are cut down. The forest is laid bare. Then comes the promise – the promise of Advent. ‘A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse’, Jesse being the father of the great king David. And on this new leader ‘the spirit of the Lord rests’. This new leader exhibits all seven gifts which we Catholics associate with the sacrament of Confirmation: ‘wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God.’ This new leader is committed to truth and justice for all. At Advent, we await the one in whom all things hold together. We hope for the one who empowers us to engage in the culture of encounter bringing peace and justice to our world. During Advent, we expand our horizon. A life of faith is not simply a matter of minding our own business, our own family or traditions, keeping within the limited circle of our own community.
No matter what our troubles, no matter what the state of our world, we draw hope and sustenance from the ideal vision of Isaiah in today’s first reading:
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbours,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay her hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,
as water covers the sea.
On that day, the root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
We all know that this vision is a long way off. But the light of the vision helps us to dispel the darkness of our world here and now. And we share that hope with and for everyone – especially those rushing around the crowded shopping centres these days looking for bargains. Let’s joyfully prepare for Christmas.
[1] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/november/documents/20251127-turchia-autorita.html
