The Voice (2nd Sunday of Advent)

John the Baptist said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of the one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"  (Matthew 3:1-4)

I was looking at Facebook yesterday morning and several people had made negative posts that they weren't ready for Christmas.  I hate to break the news to all the folks who aren't ready for Christmas, but Jesus is coming whether you are ready or not.  In fact, once you get past the pomp and circumstance that is involved with the Christmas season, the birth of Jesus is actually the best news that you could possibly imagine.  Jesus was not just any baby, He is the Son of God and was born, lived a sinless life while on earth and then died on the cross to save us from certain death.  At the expense of sounding like Linus, "that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

John the Baptist was a prophet full of the Holy Spirit.  He was also a smelly, hairy, and rough wilderness man who ate locust.  His words hit home with many people. But he knew there was a greater power and greater effectiveness than he could ever have. For however much he was inspired by God, he could not send the Spirit into anyone. Could he cause them to put their sins behind them? Or strive to be holy? John could not give them the presence of God; he could only tell them to prepare for the One who could and would give it.

It was John's job to tell of the One to come, the Messiah, the One who would send the Holy Spirit into those he baptized. One whose words and deeds would have even more impact than John's. One who would separate out or winnow the good from the bad, the fruit from the waste materials. One that John knew as friend and family, whom John had already come to respect and highly value, but didn't know as the One. The One was Jesus. Throughout His ministry, and in the early years of the apostles after Jesus' death, Jesus and his followers would keep coming across people who had come to love God through John's work. Some who heeded John's call soon took up their crosses and followed Jesus. But John's call for repentance helps us prepare, too, for John was just trying to get people to do what God wanted, and that's how anyone can be prepared for the presence of Emmanuel, God-with-us.