First Published: 2022 December 4
Matthew 3:9 “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”
It’s the Second Sunday in Advent!. Today’s Gospel comes from Matthew, the writer most concerned with explaining how Christ was a fulfillment of Jewish prophecy.
John gives the Pharisees and Sadducees a chilling welcome, calling them not as brothers or fellow faithful members of the Chosen People, but as a brood of vipers. He goes on to tell them that their salvation is not guaranteed. Though it was originally directed at the religious of the time, the message remains true to us today.
We have been saved by the blood of the Lamb. That is only true if we truly accept that salvation, though. Being baptized cleansed us of our sin, but that was in the past. We still have the rest of our lives to live our The Almighty’s Will.