Last week I said that I would take this space to describe some of the key scriptural figures of Advent, starting with the prophet Isaiah. This week I turn to St. John the Baptist, who is featured in the gospel every year on the Second Sunday of Advent. There is a connection, for much of John’s message and imagery comes from the prophet Isaiah.
Our first thought of John, particularly at this time of year, is of his birth as the son of the Blessed Mother’s elderly cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah. The importance of that detail is that it shows John’s connection to Christ. In the First Century, there was a movement that accepted John as the Messiah. All four of the gospel writers make a point of showing that John did not claim any privilege for himself. Rather, the whole purpose of his life was to prepare for the coming of Christ. John’s gospel (John 1:20) says of John, “He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, ‘I am not the Messiah.’” In the gospel of today’s mass, Matthew records John saying, “I am not worthy to carry his sandals.”
John certainly was an impressive figure, clothed in camel’s hair and with a diet that consisted of locusts and wild honey. He lived a very ascetical life filled with penitential practice. There is some speculation that John was an Essene, a very rigorous Jewish community. Yet there were some basic differences. The Essenes saw themselves as an elite group, separate from the rest of the community. John, on the other hand, left the desert to proclaim God’s salvation to all people. He welcomed tax collectors, prostitutes and all other sinners. And rather than calling people to join him in the desert, he sent them back to their families and jobs with the call to live by God’s commandments in their ordinary lives.
Of course, what identifies John most clearly was his act of baptizing in the Jordan River. John’s baptism was a unique symbol, to such an extent that it became his very identity. He is simply “the Baptist.” A totally new ritual becomes a sign that God is about to intervene in human history in an entirely new way. This baptism again ties the Baptist to the coming of the Messiah. As Christ would bring us a new life of grace, so John offers a means of repentance from the sins that separate us from God. This repentance is available to everyone, but it calls for us to make a commitment to turn away from sin and to make a change in our lives.
John’s message is very challenging. Whenever we meet someone who lives the faith intently, it can be very intimidating. Yet personally, the most ascetical people I have ever known have also been the most joyful. Their message, as that of St. John the Baptist, is that Christ offers us such a wonderful opportunity to share the life of God that it is worth whatever the cost. The message of St. John the Baptist tells us that Advent is a time of great hope. This is our time of preparation. For as we hear in the embolism to the Lord’s Prayer at mass, “We await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Father H
