Second Sunday of Advent: The Demolition Expert
The Joy of Demo Day
For several years, Chip and Joanna Gaines captivated the nation with their show Fixer Upper. The premise was simple but addictive. A couple would buy a house that was falling apart—rotting wood, bad plumbing, terrible layouts. It was a disaster. But Joanna would show them a sketch, a vision of what it could be.
And then came the part everyone loved:
Demo Day
Chip Gaines, often wearing safety goggles and a grin, would take a sledgehammer and smash through a wall. He would rip up the nasty carpet. He would tear down the cabinets.
To an outsider who didn't know the plan, it looked like vandalism. It was violent, dusty, and destructive. But the audience watched with delight because we knew the secret:
You cannot build the dream kitchen until you tear out the rot.
The demolition wasn't a punishment for the house; it was the necessary preparation for the beauty that was coming.
The Prophet with the Sledgehammer
On this Second Sunday of Advent, the Church introduces us to God’s demolition expert: John the Baptist.
In the Gospel of Matthew (3:1-12), John explodes onto the scene. He is not a polished real estate agent. He wears camel’s hair. He eats locusts. He stands in the Judean wilderness and shouts,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
John is the foreman of the project. He looks at the "house" of Israel—and the house of our own hearts—and he says, “This structure is unsound.” To the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were proud of their spiritual façade, he says,
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” He warns that “the axe lies at the root of the trees.”
This is intense imagery. It sounds like punishment. And for many of us, the word "Repentance" feels exactly like that—a heavy, shameful chore. We hear John’s voice and we want to run away. We think of repentance as losing something we like, or admitting we are failures. It is unattractive.
Atomic Desire: Making it Attractive
This brings us to the second law of Atomic Habits by James Clear:
Make it Attractive.James Clear explains that human beings are motivated by the anticipation of reward. We do things because we crave the result. If a habit feels like pure drudgery, we won't stick with it. To build a new habit, we need to associate it with a positive feeling. This is often called "temptation bundling"—pairing something you need to do with something you want to do.
But in the spiritual life, we have to go deeper than just rewarding ourselves with a treat after Mass. We have to fundamentally reframe how we view the hard work of repentance. We have to see the "After" photo. We have to make the result of repentance so attractive that we crave the demolition.
This is exactly what the Prophet Isaiah does in the First Reading (11:1-10). Before John ever picks up the axe, Isaiah unrolls the blueprints.
Isaiah describes the world that the Messiah will bring. It is a world where:
“The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.”
This is not just a nature documentary gone wrong; this is a picture of a soul at peace. Imagine your own heart for a moment. Imagine the "wolf" of your anxiety lying down next to the "lamb" of your trust. Imagine the "leopard" of your anger lying down next to the "kid" of your patience. Imagine the "lion" of your pride being led by the "little child" of your humility.
Isaiah describes a life where
“there shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain.”
That is the vision! That is the dream house! When you see that possibility—a life free from the exhausting conflict of sin—suddenly, the sledgehammer of John the Baptist doesn't look so scary. Suddenly, repentance becomes attractive. We want to clear out the debris of our addictions and our selfishness because we want to make room for that kind of peace.
Application: The Vision of Hope
St. Paul, in the Second Reading (Romans 15:4-9), reinforces this. He says,
“Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
The demolition is for the sake of hope. Here is how we make repentance attractive this week:
1. Rename Your Confession:
Do not look at Confession as "the place where I tell the priest I'm bad." That is unattractive. Look at Confession as "Demo Day." You are taking the trash out to the dumpster so God can install the marble countertops of grace. You are removing the load bearing wall of pride so the light can get in. Focus on the feeling of lightness you have when you walk out of the confessional. Crave that feeling.
2. Focus on the Fruit:
John the Baptist warns against trees that don't bear good fruit. James Clear suggests we focus on identity. Who do you want to be? Do you want to be the person who is trusted by your family? Then the "axe" to your lying is attractive. Do you want to be the person who has energy and joy? Then the "axe" to your late-night doom-scrolling is attractive. Write down the vision of the person you want to be by Christmas. Keep that vision visible.
3. The Welcome:
Paul exhorts us to “welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you.” Renovation is hard work to do alone. We need a crew. Find a spiritual partner this Advent—a spouse, a friend—and remind each other of the vision. When one is tired of the construction, the other holds up the blueprint.
John the Baptist is loud, yes. He is intense, yes. But he is clearing the way for the Prince of Peace. Let us not be afraid of the dust. Let us pick up the axe, clear the way, and prepare our hearts for the masterpiece God wants to build.
