I shared this reflection on Saturday on my lectio program on WAOB radio.
On this second Sunday of Advent we meet John, the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah. We meet him in the third chapter of Matthew's gospel. John is one of the primary icons of the Advent season - an image of revelation given us by God.
The very first verse begins: "John the Baptist appeared."
This is the man who is seen as the last of the prophets of old and the first of the prophetic voices of the new covenant. The scriptures tell us of John that there is no man born of woman greater than John.
John appeared crying out in the wilderness ... preaching to the searching souls a message of challenge and of hope. The challenge is to repent ... the hope is found in trust.
Isaiah says of him: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness; prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his path."
The people who walked in darkness and who understood the promise of a light to guide them waited ... and waited ... and waited. When they saw this man - who wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather girdle around his waist, who fed on locusts and wild honey ... this "wild man" who spoke God's word with such power and conviction - they were ready, they responded, they came to him at the Jordan river.
Inspired by his word and made ready by their hunger they came to the waters of repentance, for the chance to move forward with renewed vigor on their spiritual journey. We must ask ourselves: Are we ready to hear his call to repentance and new life?
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