Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at Hand

by Fr. Jerome Cayetano  |  12/07/2025  |  The WORD in other words

One of the staunch personalities that we meet in this season of Advent is John, the Baptist, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth whose primary mission is to prepare the people to welcome Jesus, the Savior. He understands his mission well when he confined his mission in the desert of Judea when he says: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand".

It was on him that the Prophet of Isaiah prophesied almost 800 years ago who said: "A voice of one crying in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straights his paths." (Mt 3:3) Indeed, John the Baptist is the voice of God who invites all people to repentance. As God's voice, he shows it by his life of mortification and simplicity by the clothes he is wearing which is a camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his daily food is locust and wild honey. He introduces baptism which is a ritual or a sign of repentance at the river Jordan.

Many people came to be baptized and had acknowledged their sins. The people see themselves as sinners who transgressed the Law of God and John accepts their need of repentance by submerging them in the water which symbolizes their death to sin and rising to new life. And when he saw the Pharisees and the Sadducees coming to him, he describes them as the "brood of vipers", which means that they are people full of malice. They may have been faithful in observing the Law of Moses, its regulations and statutes, but they are guilty of the sin of presumption, which the Baptist warns them. They feel secure of their "virtues" and being the children of Abraham, but their hearts are far away from God. They need to come to their senses by not relying on their "virtues", but entirely submitting themselves to God through baptism, which should produce good works and deeds. They should not rely on their self-righteous actions or deeds without the genuine fruits of repentance which joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, humility, patience, generosity, purity of heart and self-control.

Today's gospel should convict and challenge us first, to overcome our "sin of presumption". Let us not presume that the baptism that we have received when we were baptized as infants or perhaps as adults would save us; neither our name being a Christian Catholic is not even a guarantee for our salvation. Let us not presume that God's forgiveness is automatic when we confess our sins to a priest without genuine repentance. Indeed, salvation comes from God alone, from Jesus alone by acknowledging and believing in Him. Let us try our best to be worthy of this gift by living a good, righteous and holy life beginning today. Second, let us show to God and others that we have truly repented our deeds by walking in the light by our acts or deeds of joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, humility, patience, generosity, purity and self-control. The fruits of the spirit should be oozing and overflowing in us every day. Finally, we should not allow the "commercialism of Christmas" to swallow in us the spirit of anticipation and expectation His coming at Parousia, at our daily events in our life and remembrance of his first coming at Christmas. Let's heed the cry of John the Baptist "prepare the way of the Lord".

As part of our Advent preparation, the Filipino community of OLV is sponsoring a short retreat next Sunday 1:00-3:00pm at our Lady of the Valley. This is open to all the religious groups of the parish and to all parishioners. This is followed by either by individual confession or communal penance depending on the number of attendees. Grab the opportunity to encounter Jesus through this wholesome activity. And everyone is invited to join us for the 2nd Diocesan launching of the "Simbang Gabi" at St. Paul Parish at 4:45pm on December 14, 2025. Our beloved bishop, John Dolan, D. D. will preside the concelebrated Mass. It will be highlighted by the procession of Christmas lanterns and the lighting of the Christmas Tree. Of course, it will be followed by a program and dinner at the Parish Hall.