St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Bartholome Esteban Murillo
"A voice of one crying out in the desert"
Luke 3: 1-6
The Word:https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120521.cfm
St. Luke, somewhat of an historian as well as an Evangelist, places the ministry of John the Baptist this Sunday in a specific historical period of the ancient world: in the “15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.” He goes on to remind us of the other notorious characters whose names will play out in the story of the Christ: Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas and the various other ruthless leaders of the ancient world. These leaders are the mighty and the dangerous. But they were also the key political leaders of the time. It was a time of uncontrolled power and domination and the people of ancient Palestine knew well they were essentially powerless to overthrow this oppression – yet they were filled with hope that someone would come and lead them to victory, unite their nation like a new King David – a Messiah.
So Luke makes a specific effort to tell us
that at a precise moment in human history, just as he does in his nativity
narrative on the birth of Jesus, God stepped in to our time both in
the human birth of Jesus and thirty years later in the call of the
baptizer. We are being watched and studied by our Creator; he knows what our
needs are. God enters our world and
begins the revolution.
So, without much notice, a charismatic
figure, a “voice of one crying out in the desert” appears and invites everyone
to “prepare the way of the Lord . . .” by submitting to a “baptism of
repentance.” But, let’s not be too hasty to miss the point of where John is
located. Not in the palaces or courts of
the mighty and powerful or the Temple of Jerusalem, the center of Jewish
worship, but in the desert; a place of barren wasteland and a reminder to the
Jews of their birthplace.
In the desert these people were formed as
they scattered from Egypt under Moses leadership. In the desert was the
birthplace of something new and every Jew knew that. A new people formed by God
himself to be of special favor. So, is Luke telling us that something new is
about to take place with the Baptist? Yes, indeed. The political and geographic
locations Luke uses here are purposely done to remind us that something new,
actually someone new, is about to change everything. We are to prepare for him who
is about to appear.
John the baptizer or literally “John the
dipper” while his message was on the surface somewhat ominous in its unsettling
theme (Mt 3: 11-12; Lk 3: 16-17) it also became an invitation to expectancy; a
time to get ready for a greater person who was to come in the here and the now.
A time when God would intervene and send, “One mightier than I.” And so Luke
reminds us that God is about to begin a new and final age in which he would be
Lord and Savior.
John’s preaching, we may often think, was
threatening or too harsh for ears to hear.
Yet it is clear that he cut to the heart and his message was compelling;
engaging; and charismatic. So people
came out by the droves to hear him and to be washed in the Jordan. Rather than
repel people with a “fire and brimstone” theme he attracted people with a message
of hope and promise: “This is the time” that God will establish his
kingdom. Jews longed for that day and
now it was here. Before the Word would come, the word of John needed to be
heard, and so it was. He was the final
voice of the great prophets before the Word takes his place on the center
stage. The main point of our readings this weekend seems to be one of hope in
the midst of despair and helplessness.
For us Christians today, we understand the
story but it has become idealized and predictable for us. We may forget in all
that can distract us from the true essence of this season, who is Christ; this
is a time for conversion. Advent is a
graced time to move away from sin and turn toward the “salvation of God.”
The Baptist uses images of nature to describe
what we should do: “Make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled. Every mountain and hill be made low . . .
the rough ways made smooth.” (Lk 3: 6). Let there be no distractions and make
his way clear of obstacles. So, think
desert not the internet shopping craze or the traffic or the malls for
shopping. God is not in the distraction but in the desert.
So, God used one lone voice in the desert to
cry out the culmination of all the Old Testament prophets in the imminent
arrival of his Son. For those of the
ancient world thousands of years ago, Jesus’ birth went unnoticed as God
silently in human form like all of us, slipped into our space, time and history
in a tiny village of Israel called Bethlehem.
It is all by hindsight, then, that we come to understand what God was up
to. The contrast with the mighty political and social persons of the time is
striking as to how God will now work.
In our
first reading from Baruch, not a prophetic book we hear from very often, God
speaks words of peace and hope to a despairing people in captivity: “Jerusalem,
take off your robe of mourning and misery . . . For God will show all the earth
your splendor.” Baruch continues to tell
the people that God will gather back together all his dispersed children from
the east and the west and he will lead them with joy. With such powerful
reassuring words the people of Israel are reminded that God has not abandoned
them and something, or someone will ultimately carry out this promise.
So, for today, Advent is the time to search
our minds and hearts and can be a time not so much to concentrate on the baby
Jesus in the crib or the next party to plan for but should in essence be to
wonder where do I sense the presence of the divine in the world right now?
Where do I see the Word of God fleshed out and alive today?
If we couple that with the hopeful message of
the Baptist in the Gospel we can find hope that Christmas can truly be a time
for great thanksgiving. I think it is good for us to be reminded that though
John appeared and Jesus lived in a time of great earthly power and corruption,
their voice alone still remains.
As God promised to bring back the people of
Israel through a message of promise, so the same is true for us today and for
every generation. The Holy Eucharist is
a true sign of Jesus’ constancy with his people. Our walk through this life is not alone but
Christ walks with us and feeds us along the way.
So, it is time once again to clear the path –
to turn away from all that creates a road block between me and God and to turn
toward that which helps us to make ready the way of the Lord. We’ve heard from the final prophetic voice –
let’s prepare our hearts to welcome the Word in our midst.
Almighty and merciful God,
may no earthly undertaking hinder those
who set out in haste to meet your Son,
but may our learning of heavenly wisdom
gain us admittance to his company.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
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