SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT – DECEMBER 7, 2025
Advent 2025
Second Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2025
A Day is Coming
Rev. Dr. Allison Tanner
(Rev. Tanner is pastor of public witness at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church)
Isaiah 11:1-10 (NRSVUE)
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor
and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb;
the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Matthew 3:1-12 (NRSVUE)
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”
4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
A day is coming, promises Scripture, in which righteousness shall be the way of the world. The poor shall be seen for who they are, not the way structures of injustice render them. The oppressed will know fairness, not the injustice that keeps them subjugated. Truth will be spoken, not the circulation of lies upon lies. Truth will be proclaimed: a truth that leads to righteousness, equity, and justice; a truth that will set the captive and the captor free.
Prepare the way for the ones who will render righteousness, who will offer judgement that leads to justice. Prepare the way by acknowledging the lies that surround us, the injustices that oppress, and the structural violence that prevents and perverts the way of peace. Prepare for a radical change in direction from the ways of those in power – a turning to the ways of God. Those in power, whose power has been ill gotten, will face not the affirmation of corrupt judges, but divine judgement that purifies. Rulings are coming that will lead to restoration, redemption and repair. Ours is to turn toward God and open ourselves to the kin-dom of God in our very midst. Not in some far-off future, but here and now, in the thick of injustice. For into our very midst are coming, indeed are already here, those who are paving the way for peace rooted in justice.
A day is Coming
A day when righteousness and justice will reign.
Prepare for this day, for God is already at work raising up leaders who will bring it about.
Get ready to join the lonely voices who will one day lead the ruckus chorus of those who proclaim God’s presence in our midst and are busy birthing it into existence. Repent, for the kin-dom of God has drawn near.
HORIZON
(Advent Poem by Rev. Jan Richardson)
The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before.
It is not possible to keep it from coming, because it will. That’s just how Advent works. What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s hindquarters fade in the distance.
So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder.
There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing.
For now, stay. Wait.
Something is on the horizon.