I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (And all the people who heard this, including the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism. But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves.) “To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.’
For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
-Luke 7:28-35 NRSV
Necessary Components
Consider these decisive and clever individuals throughout literature:
Star Trek’s Mr. Spock; Lord of the Ring’s Samwise Gamgee; Tom Sawyer’s Huckleberry Finn; Macbeth’s Banquo; Pinocchio—Jiminy Cricket; “The Walking Dead”—Darryl
There is no doubt we could also bring to mind those historical figures — the wise, the passionate, and maybe the infamous — who had an equally-matched second-in-command. Someone who gathered information, who assessed the resources, who reached out to the volunteers and supporters. Ultimately, someone whom the leader believed shared the vision and trusted with the details.
Enter our John the Baptist. The crazy one, the rabid one, who ate locusts, wore hair shirts, and wandered throughout the wilderness raving about the end of days and the coming of the Son of Man. This man who shattered the notion of what a prophet should look and act like led the crowds into the desolation of wilderness and into chaotic waters of baptism. Of singular purpose, this John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus the Christ.
As powerful and relentless as John the Baptist moved through his work, there resides another layer beneath his seemingly erratic behavior in this gospel passage. Jesus alludes to John as a necessary component of the road to redemption; John, the one who leapt in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary came near, was born for the sole purpose of telling the world about Jesus. John’s words, his work, his existence, was necessary as a prophet likened to the old ways to usher in the Savior who comes to make all things new.
When I consider Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, Pinocchio’s Jiminy Cricket, and others, they had a distinct purpose. They were keenly self-aware and lived into that awareness for the benefit of the individuals they served under and the work they engaged in. How often are we enticed by desires and impulses and even worthy causes that we become stretched thin or burnt-out because we try to be all the things to all the people? How often to we step away, sit still in the space of our souls, and align (or re-align) with our purposes? And when we do take that precious time to settle into ourselves and who we are, how much more beautiful energy and focus and passion do we have to breathe and exist into our calling?
It would be easy to stop there, to leave with an inspirational message to keep grounded in the faith of our hearts with the hope that Jesus makes alive for us. But, our passage of text does not end there, and we must perceive it all. Jesus concludes the passage with the observable, “John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” In other words, when we align our thoughts, words, and deeds with Jesus, we will face potential discord and rejection. We will be misunderstood, thought to be barrier breakers and chaos makers. Might it be hard and hurtful? Yes, indeed it could be.
Amidst the hectic schedules and endless to-do lists of the season, may we remember that this is Advent. This is the deep breath before the plunge. May we move about our lives with eyes open recognizing the wilderness and chaos in which we exist. And, may we be ever renewed with peace and grace and compassion remembering that we love the One who is coming, the One who is true, the One who speaks into the darkness saying, “Come, follow me.”
The Rev. Janie Koch
Vicar
All Saints’, McAlester