"The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
Beginning...new start, a new hope...
"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..."
Mark's message is clear, John the Baptist is the herald of the Advent of the Messiah. John's mission is to call the nation to repent, baptizing them in cleansing water, making a place in their hearts to welcome the coming Messiah. John points constantly to 'one greater than he,' the Messiah who will forgive sins...baptizing with the fire of the Holy Spirit.
I read an article recently that refers to John the Baptist as the 'guardian of Advent.' John the Baptist is a counselor who calls us to evaluate our sins and embrace the coming glory of Christ. Repentance is essential in this process, because it displays our willing volition to be reconciled with God and to separate ourselves from dependency on the world to recognize a need for God in our lives and as a path for eternal salvation.
As a hiker I cannot help but see John the Baptist as a hiking, trail guide. He didn't build the trail, the scenery, yet knows how to lead us to the healing waters at the end of the path, teaching us how to hike and navigate, so that when we accept baptism in Christ isn't a mere action, but a life giving force in our lives...
"The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ..."
A revelry is resounding out of the wilderness, a call to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, a herald summoning us to repent for the kingdom of God is near. The miraculous announcement of the Messiah's arrival, the king of kings and savior of a broken people, doesn't come with trumpet blasts and parades, armies and swords...instead God works to reveal his Holy mystery out the most desolate and unexpected of places, the wilderness. Life is coming from the stark desperation, hope in redemption.
2000 years ago to the modern era, John the Baptist, is what the general public might consider a strange, aloof wanderer, nomad, sage, philosopher, preacher with a zeal that makes us uncomfortable. Even those in authority, accepted John the Baptist's message to be TRUTH, yet preconceptions, fears and society norms restrain us from embracing TRUTH and cleansing our hearts and minds to prepare for the Good News of the Coming Christ.
God knows our tendency to rely on the flesh and humans stringent dependency on social orders, standards, public opinions, fanatic religious order (one that prevents the Holy Spirit from working truth in our actions - i.e. we get so bent up on a law instead of understanding the layers and spirit of the law - we only seek to judge without a willingness to forgive...). It may seem counterintuitive in our world-centric minds to use a humble man without power and influence like John the Baptist to proclaim that 'the kingdom of God is here.' We are inclined to doubt the validity of a kingdom that sends a man of the wilderness with camels hair clothing and leather belt to prepare for the arrival of the king. What sort of king is this? Our flesh expects material preparation, gold and jewels, armies and trumpets.
God has all of creation in His divine grasp, gold and jewels, an army of angels, but God's kingdom is not based on status quo and earthly merits. It is built on love, reconciliation, hope and grace. Yes, God is judge: "The Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God." - Deut. 4:24; "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked." - Isaiah 48.22...God is abolishing the law, yet has come to refine us and call us to the grace of repentance through Christ and the guiding light of the Holy Spirit.
God, throughout human history, often uses the unexpected to fulfill his purposes on earth, because our expectations are flawed. It takes turning society on its head, flipping the establishment to a point to reveal his message - it forces us to tear down our walls, the interference of our lives, so that we can fully connect with God and receive HIM into our hearts.
No matter our affluence, career accomplishments, awards, or our mistakes, failures, lack of money, we all live cluttered unfulfilled lives when we find dependence in the world and not in God. We are all living in our own personal wilderness. God proved in the Exodus from Egypt and forty years of desert wandering that though we might be unable to guide our steps, stumbling in our own neuroses, hunger for greed, desperation...that God provides and brings life to the desert. It might be a bitter fight, a struggle as we are refined in the path to God, but God provides. He watches our steps and is constantly seeking his lost sheep and ministering to the faithful.
It took a man like John the Baptist, an austerely dressed, strange, aloof man, a wanderer and nomad to prepare the way to Christ. He signaled a new covenant, a shift in worldly convention to the law and hope in God. It takes being hit over the head sometimes, shocked to a point, without 'shock value' - shocked in the sense we find TRUTH in the unexpected, our worldly foundation is broken, rebuilt in God's everlasting foundation.
John the Baptist calls us to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom is here and is coming, in this season of Advent look inwardly, cleansing our hearts and minds, preparing a path to God, and tearing down our walls to that we may accept the gift of salvation in Christ without barriers of the flesh.
Repentance isn't merely absolution without consequence. Grace is stronger than that. No we do not deserve salvation in our weak, judgmental, flawed state - at the same time to truly receive forgiveness we must allow the Holy Spirit to kindle our souls with sustaining fire, to be refined in Christ and not chained to our fear, anger, hate, anxious worry (the list goes on). Repenting cleanses our souls not merely by erasing the sin, but creating a new focus and commitment in Christ, a bridge and road, a direct path to God.
Jesus who was baptized by John the Baptist, is our example of the importance of preparation and significance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit...bought for us through Christ's sufferings out of love and dependency (yes Christ relied on His Father) in God.
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