06/12/2025
HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT – YEAR A
(7/12/2025)
Theme: “Prepare the Way of the Lord”
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
as we continue our journey in Advent, the Church reminds us that Christmas is not just something we prepare for outside, it is something we must prepare for inside. Many of us are already thinking of clothes, rice, chicken, travels, and celebrations. And all these are good. But if Christ enters our house and does not enter our heart, then we have missed the meaning of Christmas.
Today, John the Baptist speaks to us in a very direct and challenging way: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.” John is telling us the same thing he told the people in his time: “Get your life ready.” He knows that you cannot receive a mighty guest in a dirty house and expect the guest to be comfortable. In the same way, we cannot invite Jesus into our lives while refusing to change what He is not happy with.
Isaiah tells us that a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse. This is a message of hope for all of us who feel tired, discouraged, or broken. It means God is not finished with you yet. Even when your life looks dry, God can still make something beautiful out of it. Even if your past is full of mistakes, your future can still be full of grace. But you must cooperate with God. Christmas will not change us unless we allow Christ to change us.
When John says, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” he is not talking about road construction. He is talking about heart repair. Some of us need to clear the road of anger. Some need to remove bitterness. Some must fill the pothole of prayerlessness. Some must clear the bush of lying, cheating, sexual immorality, and injustice. We cannot expect Christ to be comfortable in a heart full of hatred, jealousy, or unforgiveness.
And this call to repentance is not only for “ordinary people.” It is for everyone in Nigeria, without exception. It is for corrupt politicians who steal public money while the people suffer. It is for civil servants who collect bribes to do what is already their duty. It is for security agents who abandon their responsibility or abuse the people they are meant to protect. It is for kidnappers, bandits and extremists who shed innocent blood and think God will overlook it. It is for ritualists and traffickers who destroy lives for money. It is for business people who cheat in measurements and prices. It is for husbands who mistreat their wives and fathers who abandon their children. It is for young people who waste their lives in drugs, cultism, and immorality.
It is also for church people, pastors, prophets, and preachers who turn the house of God into a market place, who preach prosperity without preaching repentance, who sell oil and water instead of teaching truth, who manipulate the poor and frighten the ignorant in the name of “prophecy.” God is not mocked. Anointing is not a cover for sin. A title does not replace holiness.
John’s message is not to frighten us but to free us. Repentance is not about punishment; it is about freedom. God is not calling you to confess your sins so He can disgrace you. He is calling you so He can heal you. Carrying sin is like carrying a heavy load on your head under the hot Nigerian sun. Confession is when you finally drop the load and rest.
And when repentance is real, it shows. A changed heart produces a changed life. It becomes harder to lie. It becomes easier to forgive. Prayer stops being a burden and becomes a need. You begin to hate what God hates, and love what God loves. Christianity is not about wearing a cross; it is about carrying your cross daily by living rightly.
John also tells us that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. When fire enters a thing, it changes it. It melts it. It reshapes it. If Christ truly enters your life, something must change. If the same anger, the same bitterness, the same cheating, the same prayerlessness remain year after year, then Christ has been around you but not inside you.
My dear people of God, Christ is coming again this Christmas. The question is not whether He will come. The question is how He will find us. Will He meet a heart that is ready or a heart that is crowded? Will He find forgiveness or fight? Will He see repentance or pride? Advent is the season to settle our matters with God.
TAKE-HOME MESSAGES
1. Christmas preparation is first spiritual, not social.
2. Repentance is a gift, not a punishment.
3. Confession is not a shame; it is a cure.
4. If Christ enters your life, something must change.
5. Advent is the best time to return fully to God.
6. Do not decorate your house and neglect your soul.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
we are waiting for You,
but more than that, we need You.
Enter our lives and cleanse what is dirty.
Heal what is broken.
Calm what is troubled.
Change what is sinful.
Touch our nation.
Convert our leaders.
Convict the violent.
Correct the dishonest.
Purify Your Church.
Heal the wounded.
Restore the lost.
Remove from us every hatred,
every bitterness,
every pride,
and every disobedience.
Give us new hearts,
new minds,
and new beginnings.
This Christmas, do not pass us by.
Come and stay with us.
Amen.
