Repent for the Coming King, Isaiah 11, Matthew 3, Romans 15

When John the Baptist went out preaching repentance and baptism, even Pharisees and Sadducees took notice. They came out to hear him and to be baptized. But he called them out calling them a brood of vipers and wanting to know who warned them to flee the wrath to come! Many think that John is utterly rejecting them, but he is making sure they understand what they are doing. They think they are righteous, so why would they need repentance? But if they need repentance, then they are not really righteous! We need to be wary ourselves of thinking we are good to go in this life and must continually return to this call of repentance and need to bear fruit that reflects our repentance.

Image: St. John the Baptist Preaching, Mattia Preti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Judgment, Repentance, and Peace, Matthew 3:1-12, Isaiah 11:1-10

John the Baptist came preaching judgment and repentance in light of the coming of the Messiah. How does this relate to the idea of peace? How does peace come out of a word of judgment and call to repentance? Father Jeremiah tells about this reality in his sermon today.

Image: St. John the Baptist icon, picture taken by Ted. No changes made. Used under license: CC BY-SA 2.0. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/frted/10181902566

Prayer for the King, Psalm 72

Psalm 72 was a psalm written for Solomon’s inauguration and reign. It is a prayer for the blessing of his reign, but through his failures, it becomes a prophecy of the greater Son of David who would come to rule over all of creation. We see once again, how the psalms have layers that point forward to Jesus Christ in his coming to redeem his people. Listen now to Father Jeremiah explain these connections and apply it to us today.

Image: Christus Pantocrator, from Cathedral of Cefalù, c. 1130. Photographed by Andreas Wahra. Used under GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2 and CC BY-SA 3.0