Monday, December 21, 1998
Monday, December 21, 1998
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in
the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3
NRSV)
John the Baptist seems out of place in our celebration of Advent. "'Tis the season to
be jolly" as the popular carol goes. John isn't someone you would want to invite to
your home for a holiday get-together. And yet each year we hear about John the
Baptist who prepares us for Christ's coming.
John's task is to help us get ready to meet the Messiah. We can not find our way to
Bethlehem without the help of this man. John points out the way for us. The people
were waiting for John or someone like him for over 200 years. And for some 2,000
years, John comes to prepare us.
Centuries before, the prophet Isaiah spoke about the one who was to come. "The
voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight.'" John was that voice. His task was to lead people to Jesus the
Messiah. Matthew reports that people from all over Jerusalem and Judea "were
going out to him."
Ronald Newhouse, Texas, USA
As we prepare for Jesus, John the Baptist is not an easy person for us to listen to.
He wore a camel's hair coat with a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts
and honey. His hair was long and unkempt. When the religious officials came to see
him and be baptized by him, he insulted them by calling them names. Apparently
John the Baptist had not read any church growth material that says first impressions
are important.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, come soon! Amen.