Deacon Mike Meyer / Sunday, December 7, 2025 / Categories: Blog, Homilies The Kingdom of God Is at Hand! Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A You better watch out, you better not cry, Better not pout, I’m telling you why . . . The Kingdom of God is at hand! You thought I was going to say Santa Claus is coming to town, didn’t you? You were singing the words in your head, right? Well, as my dad used to say, “Patience is a virtue.” Santa will have his day, but it’s still Advent, and today’s readings call for us to focus on the Kingdom of God. So, focus we will. Building upon last week’s reading from Isaiah, where we learned of God’s gracious plan for humanity, today’s first reading paints a beautiful picture of what life will be like when God’s chosen one returns. “Natural enemies becom[e] friends in the animal world, symboliz[ing] tranquil relations among people and nations,” who fight like cats and dogs today. These “scenes of peaceful coexistence among Earth’s creatures signal a return to . . . Eden and . . . indicate a reversal of sin’s disruptive effects on the natural order.”[1] That sounds great, but we can’t help ask, “What’s taking so long? When will the Messiah return and bring all things to perfection?” Well, we don’t know when the end of time will come, but something John the Baptist says in our Gospel gives us great hope for the here and now: “The Kingdom of God is at hand!” “At hand,” the English used for the original Greek word éngiken (ἤγγικεν), is a good translation. Both mean “within reach” or “readily accessible.” That one word tells us, then, that the Kingdom of God is in our midst, though there’s more to come. It’s available to us, at least in part, right now. You see, the word we translate as “Kingdom,” basiléia (βασιλεία), isn’t a physical place. It means “God’s reign,” which became “present and visible here and now with the coming of Jesus, though it awaits completion.”[2] As a result, we don’t just prepare for Christ’s first coming at Christmas and his second coming at the end of time during Advent. It’s also a time to focus on Christ’s presence among us right now. When Jesus ascended to heaven, he assured the Apostles that he’d be with us always, until the end of time. That’s why St. Bernard of Clairvaux reminds us that there’s a third coming of the Lord nestled between the first and the second. This “intermediate coming is a hidden one,” where Christ “comes in spirit and in power.” Because it lies between the other two, “it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last.”[3] It both leads us to heaven and makes heaven present to us right now. So how do we find Christ hidden among us? How do we experience God’s Kingdom right now? Allow me offer a few suggestions. First, today’s Psalm is clear: if we want the peaceable Kingdom promised in our first reading, we need to work for justice. People are struggling on all levels today, and it’s our Christian duty to ensure that everyone gets what they deserve—that’s justice in a nutshell. Whether we provide adequate food and shelter, offer reasonable wages, or advocate for equal justice under law, to name a few, we need to promote and work for justice to experience God’s Kingdom here on earth. Second, as we heard in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans, we need to live “in harmony with one another.” There’s way too much discord in the world today. Pontificating politicians and contemptuous commentators flood the airwaves, distasteful dialogue dominates social media, and road rage reigns in every traffic circle in New Jersey. We have to stop. We’ll never experience God’s Kingdom in our midst until we accept people’s right to opinions that differ from ours, respect every person’s God-given dignity, and strap down our middle fingers when we drive through New Jersey traffic circles. Finally, we need to make peace with God. We reject God, neglect God, and disrespect God, but God is the peace, God is the Kingdom, we crave. To find it, we need to spend time with God in prayer, in confession, and especially at Mass. Do these things, and we’ll have no trouble finding Jesus among us and God’s Kingdom right before our eyes. You know who was a great example of living God’s Kingdom here and now? Saint Nicholas, whose feast day we celebrated yesterday. Saint Nicholas was the fourth-century Bishop of Myra in what’s now modern-day Türkiye. When his parents died, he gave his inheritance to the poor and embarked on a life of extraordinary generosity toward those in need, particularly through his deep love and concern for children. St. Nick’s love and generosity, proof of God’s Kingdom in our midst, live on today in Santa Claus. When we live the way Saint Nicholas and all the Saints lived, we’ll find that there’s no need to “watch out,” and there’ll be no crying or pouting, and I’m telling you why—the Kingdom of God is at hand. Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12 [1] Scott Hahn and Curtis J. Mitch, eds., The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2024), 1186-1187. [2] Daniel Durken, ed., New Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2009), 14. [3] Bernard of Clairvaux, “Sermo 5,” in Adventu Domini. Advent Parish Retreat, Adoration, and Reconciliation Print 109 Please login or register to post comments.