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.’ ”
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.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
-Matthew 3:1-12 NRSVUE
Prepare the Way for the One Who is The Way
John the Baptist comes to trouble us. He’s here to reach down into the depths of our being and call us to attention. Maybe you recall a parent or teacher who by a mere clearing of the throat or a look that seared into your eyes would cause you to immediately sit up straight and pay attention. An immediate sense of guilt washed over you making you reflect on what you might have done. This is the voice of John the Baptist, who demands our attention, for a time of metanoia is upon us.
John’s call is to prepare and make way for the One that is the Way. John the Baptist no doubt continues to herald the call to make way. With the help of the Holy Spirit, his voice is present with every daily decision we make, either personally or collectively. In these moments, we are asked do our decisions repeat well established patterns of safety, security, power, control, and a myriad of other strategies we create to maintain a status quo way of living, thinking, and being? Or do our decisions lead us out of our automaticity and towards a renewing of our hearts and minds? The turning that metanoia requires - indeed demands - is to repentance, to an examen of where our decisions lead to devolution rather than evolution. As a result, a way is made for the Christ child, for more potential to be born, for the new thing God is about doing in our lives, in our communities, to break forth and be born anew.
Yes, John the Baptist’s voice calls us to attention, to wake up, take notice, and be present to what is happening around us through the lens of God’s grace and love. I find the show, “What Would You Do,” intriguing and disturbing. They create random scenarios with actors that highlight an injustice happening in a public setting. The show explores why it is that some people take the risk to help a vulnerable other. The scenario could be an adult berating a child, or a person of privilege making racist remarks, or a domestic situation where a woman is being verbally accosted by a significant other, or a host of other such situations. These are moments that trouble us - John the Baptist moments, calling us to attention.
The decisions we make daily are not usually so extreme, but they nonetheless are opportunities to wake up, prepare, and make a way for the Light of Christ to shine. Devolution feeds the status quo where evolution breaks free from automatic repeating patterns. This makes room for the Christ Child to come forward and be born in our lives in such a way that the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them and the marginalized are restored to community.
The Rev. Tammy Wooliver
Rector
St. Luke’s, Ada