01/04/2026
Today’s Gospel reading and some reflections:
Matthew 3:1-6
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 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.’ ” (from Isaiah 40:3) Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.
It is noteworthy that even the preparation for Christ’s ministry was John the Baptist’s call to repentance as the Forerunner of Christ. Later on, Christ also continued this call to repentance (Matthew 4:17).
To repent means to change one’s mind in a way that is a complete reorientation of one’s whole life. As Augustine of Hippo wrote: Unless one repent of his former life, he cannot begin a new life.
Repentance is a continuous turning to God, not just a one-time act. As John Chrysostom wrote: Repentance cleanses the heart, enlightens the sense, and prepares the soul for the reception of Christ.
If sin is missing the mark, it implies that there is a target one is aiming at… to hit. The mark we were all created for is the image and likeness of Christ. But there is no way to aim at and hit that target if we are turned away from Christ and facing our own way. We have to turn to face Him and behold His likeness in order to gradually become more like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18)… and become better able to hit the target. This isn’t about guilt, shame, condemnation, judgment, or self-punishment for missing the mark because Christ offers compassion, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. It is about the deep sorrow of missing the mark… or of realizing that we weren’t even really facing the target. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:10: For godly sorrow produces a repentance leading to salvation, not to the regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Even if repentance is produced by sorrow for missing the mark, the joy of the salvation to which it leads is beyond compare… joy for us and for God. As Makarios of Egypt wrote: Being bountiful and full of love, God awaits with great patience the repentance of every sinner, and he celebrates the return of the sinner with celestial rejoicing; as He Himself says, “There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:7, 10).
In conclusion:
So long as we are missing the mark of His image and likeness; Christ, like John the Baptist in this Gospel passage, is calling us to repentance… to change our minds… to turn and face Him… to abide in Him so that we will bear His fruit in our lives.
