Finding What's Missing (2025-12-07, Advent)

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 [v_202]       2025-12-07  “Advent 2^nd Sunday homily”

“Finding What’s Missing… and the Courage to Let John Speak”  Matthew 3:1–12

[1] The Rhythm of Advent

On these 4 Sundays of Advent, the readings at Mass and liturgy follow a consistent pattern, year after year.
1^st Sunday—last week—looks to the 2^nd Coming of Jesus at the end of time, reminding us to stay awake because the Lord will return.
2^nd Sunday—today—is always about John the Baptist appearing in the desert, calling us to prepare the way.
3^rd Sunday - next Sunday, on Gaudete Sunday, John steps aside so Christ can take center stage.
4^th Sunday - Advent brings us to the Annunciation and Mary’s “yes.”

So today we meet John as he calls people to repentance. The Gospel also mentions two groups—the Pharisees and Sadducees—often spoken of together even though they were quite different.

[2] Pharisees, Sadducees, and What Was Missing

The Pharisees were the “separated ones,” dedicated to holiness. Their danger was that zeal for holiness could slip into appearances rather than conversion of heart.
The Sadducees were the priestly, aristocratic class, deeply tied to the Temple. They denied the resurrection, angels, and much of the supernatural. Their danger was becoming so rational that they lost the hope God had promised.

John calls out both groups—not to shame them, but to reveal that something is missing.
He sends the same message to us: look honestly and courageously at the gaps in your spiritual life.

John is blunt, yes. But he is not raging. He is courageous. And courage comes from the Latin cor—the heart. True courage is not anger; it is clarity spoken from the heart.

If someone shouts “Fire!” we do not blame them for being harsh. Their urgency is compassion. Their clarity is mercy.
John shouts because Christ is near, and he wants us to see what we may have misplaced—repentance, prayer, forgiveness, or even simple awareness of God’s presence.

[3] Rediscovering What We Didn’t Know Was Missing

Recently I found a book in my house that I was convinced I had lost. It’s an autobiography by Pat Conroy called My Losing Season. My cousin had been urging me to read it for years. I finally bought it, put it aside, and then forgot entirely where I had placed it.

When I found it again—buried under a stack of other books—it had the same honesty and clarity as his others. And the theme is right in the title: loss, defeat, sorrow, and the surprising wisdom that can come from them.

Sometimes we learn more from losing than from winning.

John the Baptist appears in the Gospel almost like rediscovering that book.
He gathers together “all the books” of the Law and Prophets.
He is both the last Old Testament prophet and the first New Testament voice.
He holds together sorrow and hope, loss and promise.
John helps us rediscover something in our faith that we may not even know is missing.

[4] The Other Readings: A Single Message

The other Advent readings today echo John with a unified theme.
Isaiah promises a Messiah whose justice will restore peace.
The Psalm prays for justice to flourish and peace to abound.
Saint Paul reminds us that Scripture strengthens our hope so that we may live in harmony.

All three point toward the same truth John proclaims in the desert: God is doing something new, so prepare your heart.

[5] Honest Signs of What’s Missing

Most of us don’t go through the day thinking, “I know exactly what’s missing in my spiritual life.”
What we notice instead is irritation, impatience, anxiety. We say, “That’s just me,” and we move on. But those are often signs of a deeper absence.

I once prayed every day for someone who was very difficult for me. At the end of the month, that person hadn’t changed at all. But I had changed. I noticed peace where there had been resentment.
John’s mission is to help us name those missing pieces and create room for Christ to fill them.

[6] How We Prepare: Small Acts of Courage

So how do we prepare? Not with dramatic gestures, but with simple acts of discipline, small acts of cor, of the heart.

• Smile when you don’t feel like smiling.
That is not deception; it is discipline, a little way of laying down your life.

• Pray for the person who frustrates you.
Often the first change is the change inside of you.

• Choose silence instead of the quick comeback.
(And yes, I love the quick comeback!)
But sometimes the path that needs straightening is the path inside our own hearts.

These are small acts, but they make real space for Christ.
They prepare the road for Him just as surely as John prepared the road in the desert.

[7] John’s Voice and Our Response

John’s voice is not meant to frighten us; it is meant to clarify us.
He does not bring shame; he brings courage.
He does not ask us to wait passively for God to “find us.”
He calls us to act, to prepare, to repent, to notice what we have misplaced or forgotten.

John is the friend who tells you the hard truth because he loves you.
His shout is mercy. His urgency is compassion.
And his message is simple: “There is more to your story. Something is missing. Let’s find it together.”

[8] Conclusion: Making Room for Christ

The good news of Advent is not only that Jesus is coming, but that He desires to enter the places in our lives where something is missing—perhaps something we forgot, misplaced, or thought was lost completely.

John calls us to prepare—not by waiting, but by acting.
By small disciplines. By honest courage. By opening a little more room in the heart.

This week, let us allow John the Baptist to help us find what is missing and prepare the way for the One who desires to enter the very center of our lives, if we make room for Him.