Thoughts for the Day

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight”’,

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

In the years before computers advertising things could be laborious. As a 15 year old I remember a significant event in our village was the fun fair. Posters would appear, and then the trailers began to arrive with exciting things - the carousel with its prancing ponies, the dodgems, and the stands for the coconut shy. Sometimes there was a ghost ride, and we shivered in anticipation. We teenagers hung around the sports ground all week before it opened watching the amusement stands being put up with our excitement growing until the fairground was officially opened.

Two thousand years ago it was even harder to get a message out across Israel, but at the beginning of Mark's Gospel we see John the Baptist making a huge stir. Prophets who professed to speak on behalf of God were often very odd, sometimes appearing in a group, and whipping themselves to an ecstatic frenzy, so when John appeared from the desert dressed in clothes made of camel's hair, they listened as he called them to repent before the coming of the Messiah.

John's words invite a shiver of emotion as hearing them now reminds us of the message of the one who was born to the barren Elizabeth, and of his awful death. But his words have a double purpose today. They seek to prepare us for the coming of Christmas - to spiritually prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christ's birth - and also of the need to continue preparing ourselves for His Second Coming.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank You that John the Baptist
dedicated his life to Your work
to prepare the people of his time
as well as to the generations of Christians
who followed him.
As we read the well-known scriptures
this Advent
may they regenerate in us
a fresh desire to prepare ourselves
for the coming of Christmas
and for when You will come again.
Amen.