Ah Yes, There it is…

Scripture

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
    and the rough places shall become level ways,
 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

Reflection

What is salvation? I reflect upon my earlier church experience in which this word was used with such familiarity that it was rarely, if ever, explained. From whom or what did I need to be saved? Thankfully, I now have a fuller understanding of the gospel message that this passage provides in microcosm.

John the Baptist was no ordinary son of a Levitical priest. Luke’s gospel has already prepared us to see his ministry unfold, proclaiming that John would be filled with God’s Holy Spirit and would lead people to turn back to their God (1:15-17). The wandering prophet proclaims a simple message – turn back to your God and seek forgiveness for your sin. Prepare to receive Him.

Ah yes, there it is. That thing from which I need to be delivered. Sin. The willful doing of things that God has called upon us to not do…or else the willful ignoring of what he has called us to do. Whether in thought, word, or deed such disobedience is innate to our being. Indeed, it has been this way ever since Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil back in the third chapter of Genesis. And sin brought death. I am unable to free myself from that trap. Each of us is similarly afflicted.

Are we ready? Are we ready for Christ to enter our lives and to go about the work of straightening us out? To not only fill in the places of our lack, but to also tear down our mountain strongholds. We need both things: To hear and finally receive the message that we are good enough; and that God has declared that we are worthy of his love. And yet also allow him to remove our areas of pride and the sinful habits to which we desperately cling.

Jesus indeed has come and will come again to bring salvation to the world. To free us from sin and death and to deliver us to right living and to eternal life. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Receive him into your life and let the work of salvation continue in you.

The Rev. Andrew Johnson

Associate Rector, All Souls’ Episcopal Church, Oklahoma City