Sunday December
6, 2015
A Reflection
on Luke 3:1-6, N.A.B.
By: Larry T
1 In the fifteenth year
of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and
Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of
Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
2 during the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of
Zechariah in the desert.
3 He went throughout
[the] whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins,
4 as it is written in the
book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one crying out in the
desert:
‘Prepare
the way of the Lord,
make
straight his paths.
5
Every valley shall be filled
and
every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The
winding roads shall be made straight,
and
the rough ways made smooth,
6
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
As we reflect
on this reading we might take a few deep breaths, close our eyes, and imagine
that we are back in Jesus’ time. We’re walking parallel to the densely wooded
bank of the River Jordan searching for a place to wade across when suddenly we
come upon a throng of people gathered at the river edge.
Puzzled, we
tap a burly onlooker on the shoulder, “What’s going on?”
He turns with
a smile, “Friend, John is baptizing those who are ready to be consecrated to
God.”
“Who is this
John?”
“He is John the
son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, but people just call him John the Baptist. Most
people say that he is a true prophet of God, like Elijah of old”
Standing on
our tiptoes and stretching our necks to see over the crowd we can see John
immersing one pilgrim after another in the cold water of the river.
We tug on the
cloak of our new friend, “How do you know that he is a true prophet of God?”
Turning he
smiles again, “Just wait until you hear him preach. Besides that, the only
clothing he wears is camel hair with a leather belt around his waist and all he
eats is grasshoppers and wild honey as a sign of strict self-denial and spiritual
discipline. Just wait, he’s almost done with the baptisms and will soon begin
preaching.
Intrigued, we
decide to wait around to hear what he has to say. After all, anyone who dresses
in camel hair and eats grasshoppers and wild honey might be worth listening to.
As soon as he finished baptizing, he dried himself off and strode to the top a nearby
grassy knoll. He turned to face the crowd.
Someone said,
“John tell us what to do!”
He said, “Anyone
with two tunics must share with the one who has none, and the one with
something to eat must do the same.”
A tax
collector rose to his feet. “Master, what must I do?”
“Exact no
more than the appointed rate.”
A soldier
stood up to speak for his small group. “What about us? What must we do?”
John said,
“No intimidation. No extortion. Be content with your pay.” Then he turned his
back to the crowd and strode purposefully away into the wilderness.
John’s
message was unmistakable: give up extortion, blackmail, gouging, stop being greedy,
and begin sharing with those who are in greater need. He eventually became so
popular that Herod Antipas, fearing an uprising, had him first imprisoned and
then executed. John’s reputation was so great that early Christians had to take
special care to differentiate him from Jesus and underscore his inferiority to
Jesus.
Still yet, the
Acts of the Apostles contains two stories (18:24-28; 19:1-7) which tell us that
John’s movement not only survived long after his death, but reached as far as
Ephesus. And Josephus, the Jewish historian, some sixty years after the death
of John wrote, “He was a good man and had
exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice toward their
fellows and piety toward God, and so to come to baptism;” (Ant. 18:116-119).
In the Church
year John the Baptist is most prominent during the Advent season. The role of precursor or forerunner to the Lord is attributed to him by way of Isaiah 40:3:
3 A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the
LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Important as his
role as precursor to the Lord is, it’s John’s message that is the essence of
the Advent season. It’s in living out his message that we truly prepare for the
coming of the Lord.
