Sunday, December 8, 2024 - Advent II

 


John the Baptist has always been a perplexing character to me.When I think of him, I often think of Robin William’s character of Alan in Jumanji. If you aren’t familiar with the film, Alan gets sucked into a game as a child and he spends 26 years trapped in the jungle. When he emerges from the game, Alan, bearded with long flowing hair and wearing leaves for clothing, exclaims, "What year is it?" 

 

Like Alan, John, is a man out of time. He does not really belong in this time and place. He lives in the desert, wearing a cloak of camel’s hair and dining on locusts and wild honey. What does this guy have to do with Christmas?

 

Luke tells us that the word of God comes to John in the wilderness and he proceeds to follow the Jordan river, preaching, and preparing the way for Jesus. John quotes Isaiah: 

 

A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
 And all people will see God’s salvation.

 

John is harkening the people of Israel back to another time. But he is also preparing the way forward. He is telling the people of Israel that the one who will turn everything on its head is coming—and he’s coming to grant ALL people God’s salvation. 

 

This is revolutionary, of course—the idea that the Lord is coming, and he is not just coming for the people of Israel, but for all of humanity. And, as Luke often does, he puts John into the context of his time. This chapter begins with "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar." Luke is placing John, this man out of time, in a very specific time and place. And, frankly, a dangerous one at that. But John is reminding the Israelites, and us, that a saviour is coming to take them out of bondage into freedom. But we must prepare the way for him—we must prepare our hearts and minds for Christ.

 

Advent is a time of preparation. It’s a time when we are encouraged to slow down, take a deep breath, and prepare for the birth of a baby—even in a world that invites us to do the opposite. This is what John, our Voice in the Wilderness, has to do with Christmas. He reminds us to prepare the way not just for a miraculous baby but for the Saviour of the world.

 

by Catherine Ball

 

 
"Ut Queant Laxis" by Orlando di Lasso
performed by the Nederlands Kamerkoor
 

 


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