The fruit of repentance: genuinely good deeds

This Sunday’s Gospel reading offers us the perfect lesson for this second week of Advent. John the Baptist is preaching along the Jordan River, and people from all over Judea are coming to hear him. And what does he preach? His message concerns preparation for the one coming after him, namely Jesus. 

John the Baptist’s message is two-fold. First, he invites people to a baptism of repentance. He says to those who come to partake in this traditional Jewish ritual that being descendants of Abraham will be no guarantee on the Day of Judgment. If he was speaking today, he would likely say to us that being Christian, or even Catholic, is likewise no guarantee that we would be found righteous when we come to be judged. 

No, John makes clear there is one only disposition that will count at judgment time — our lives must bear the fruit of repentance. This means fostering a life made up of genuinely good deeds, issuing forth from a sincerely converted heart. Part of our preparation during Advent requires us to respond to John’s invitation to prepare in this season for Jesus’ birth. This requires being about the work of fostering the fruit of repentance in our lives, among our families, in communities to which we belong, and among strangers. 

In his letter to the Romans, Paul suggests the point of departure of such efforts. He encourages this community that above all, “think in harmony with one another” (Rom 15:5) and to “welcome one another as Christ welcomed you” (15:7).  This may take the form of mending relationships, being more patient, listening better, lending a hand that is helpful even when it is not convenient, or even just taking time together to meditate prayerfully on the Christian mystery of this season.

Such prayer-filled reflection anticipates and coincides with the second part of John’s proclamation. John announces that the one coming after him will also offer baptism. But this will not be a baptism of repentance but a baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire. This one who is coming that John speaks about is, of course, Jesus, whose baptism of Spirit and fire offers a comforting image of purification and illumination for those who bear good fruit. 

John also proclaims that, with the appearance of the one who is coming, the kingdom of God is at hand.  The Greek word basileia, often translated as kingdom, perhaps is better understood as “rule of God.” The word refers not to a social or political establishment but to an unprecedented divine intervention, the Word of God becoming flesh among us. We call this Christmas mystery the Incarnation. It is the unfathomable inbreaking of God into our humanity. The divine becomes a human, born in the insignificant town of Bethlehem, son of a previously unknown maiden and carpenter. Despite these humble beginnings, Isaiah’s words echo the magnificence of this incarnate One. “The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength . . . . Justice shall be the band around his waist” (Is 11:2, 5).

Incarnation, then, is one of the profound mysteries of our faith, the reality we prepare for this Advent. Jesus, who is one with God, came and walked upon the same earth on which we walk.  And by his life, Jesus showed us what God is like — the comforter; the healer; the friend; the lover. God is the one who lifts up the lowly; the one who elevates the poor; the one who restores well-being; the one who doesn’t take account of a person’s social status, race, gender, or ethnicity; the one who does justice and who forgives. This is the God Jesus reveals through his incarnate reality. At the same time, this is the humanity he reveals we are capable of becoming and to which he invites us. This Sunday’s Gospel makes clear that this is the time of preparation, “to prepare a way for the LORD” and to prepare our hearts to receive him.