On Jordan's Bank

Gospel Reflection for December 7, 2025, the Second Sunday of Advent - Matthew 3:1-12

And in those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea.

And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

For this is he that was spoken of by Isaias the prophet, saying: A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

And the same John had his garment of camels’ hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the country about Jordan:

And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: Ye brood of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come?

Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance.

And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.

I indeed baptize you in the water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire.

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:1-12 DRA)

If you somehow missed it, the best Catholic music band around today, the Hillbilly Thomists, a group of Dominican friars, recently released their first Christmas album, simply entitled Carols. I’ve been listening to it on near-repeat since I first learned of it. All of its songs are traditional Christmas carols, focused on Christ rather than simply wintertime or Santa Claus, and its first track, On Jordan’s Bank, is especially suited to this second Sunday of Advent. This carol celebrates St. John the Baptist, the last of the Old Covenant prophets and the bridge to the new Israel, the herald of the Messiah and the greatest man who ever lived according to Christ. (Mt 11:11)

The first stanza of this carol introduces the Baptist just where we find him in today’s Gospel:

On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry

Announces that the Lord is nigh;

Awake and hearken, for He brings

Glad tidings of the King of kings

This is why the Baptist has always been associated with Advent: he proclaims the coming of Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lamb of God who, as the Psalmist sang, “shall rescue the poor when he cries out, / and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.” He is the little child prophesied by Isaias in the first reading, leading the lion and the calf who no longer fight or fear but seek only to follow their Creator.

But despite the Baptist’s profound joy at the long-awaited coming of the Savior, his message is also a warning against eternal damnation and an exhortation to penance and charity. The carol thus continues:

Then cleansed be ev’ry heart from sin

Make straight the ways of God within;

And let each heart prepare a home

Where such a mighty Guest may come

With His winnowing fan in hand, Christ is preparing the floor of His new home, the inner castle of our hearts, for His indwelling, so that we may be liberated from every attachment to sin and empowered by grace to know and love Him above all creatures. The Baptist truly lived this heroic sanctity, forsaking all worldly glamour and comfort to fulfill prophecy and prepare mankind for the coming of its Messiah. But his message is not ended: it continues today in this Advent, since we know that Christ will soon return and He will come not meek and mild but as the Judge of the world. In the meantime, the carol has an important reminder for us:

For Thou art our salvation, Lord

Our refuge and our great reward;

Without Thy grace we waste away

Like flow’rs that wither and decay

“[W]ithout me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5) All good that we do is possible only through His grace: He enables us to act, inspires us to act, teaches us what end to act for, moves us to act, guides our good acts and brings them to fulfillment while giving us the grace of perseverance to remain in His grace to the end. This is why Christ’s coming was and is necessary: no one but Christ can obey the Law perfectly, but by His grace we can not only obey the Law but surpass it in imitation of His perfect charity, even unto participation in the divine life. (2 Pt 1:4)

This Advent, I pray that we will repent of our sins, asking God to remove all the barriers to Him in our lives and to fill us with His grace, so that we may be more perfectly conformed to Christ and deified by eternal union with Him in Heaven. The conclusion of our carol is a perfect prayer to carry us through this wonderful season:

To heal the sick stretch out Thine hand

And bid the fallen sinner stand;

Shine forth, and let Thy light restore

Earth’s own true loveliness once more

All praise, eternal Son, to Thee

Whose advent doth Thy people free;

Whom with the Father we adore

And Holy Ghost for evermore