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"Prepare the way of the Lord"
Luke 3: 1-6
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120824.cfm
St. Luke, both historian and an exacting Evangelist, places the ministry of John the Baptist this Sunday in a specific time and place of the ancient world: "In the15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.” He goes on to remind us of the other notorious characters whose reigned at that time; names that will play out in the story of the Christ: Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas and the various other ruthless and corrupt leaders of the ancient world. These were all the bad guys: murderous, arrogant, no regard for life, power hungry, and morally depraved, to say the least.
They were the mighty and the dangerous key political leaders of the time. Israel 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.
Without much notice, a charismatic figure, a “voice of one crying out in the desert” appears and invites everyone within the sound of his voice, 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 rapidly escaped 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, 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” with his
preaching was somewhat ominous in his unsettling theme.
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 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
symbolically washed clean of sin 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. The main point of our readings this weekend
seems to be one of hope amid despair and helplessness.
For us Christians today, we understand the story, but
it has become idealized and predictable for us. Advent is a graced time to move
away from sin and turn toward the “salvation of God.”
To, “Make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled. Every mountain and hill be made low . . . the rough ways made smooth.” (Lk 3: 6).
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. 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, 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.
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?
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 roadblock 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 this Sunday)
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