Pastor’s Corner
The voice of John the Baptist is heard every year on the Second and Third Sundays in Advent. What do we make of John the Baptist? One response is to treat him like we do speed bumps on our roads. We slow down or swerve a bit to avoid damaging our car springs, but then we step on the gas! A better response is to go as slowly as possible over the bump and give a listen.
“The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mk 1.8)
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’” (Jn 1.23)
In addition to these quotes, the narration in John 1 says that John was “a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” These are profound claims and worthy of our full attention as we prepare for the joy of the Christmas announcement, “Do not be afraid.” Words like “powerful,” “baptism,” “wilderness,” and “light” all beg for deeper conversation.
Luther called John “the fiery angel of true repentance. With a single thunderbolt he strikes and destroys both false penitents and false saints.” Luther knew that the speed bump called John could cause us to swerve in two unhelpful directions–to more and more empty confession of our need, or more and more foolish bragging about how good we are. In either case, the misuse of John’s words means we’ll miss the angel’s announcement to the startled shepherds: “Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy … to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”
In one sense, we are all called to be John the Baptist in a culture far removed from his ascetic, prophetic markings of “camel’s hair, leather belt, locusts and wild honey.” To be John today is to sift through all the centuries of legends and traditions which so easily obscure the meaning of Advent and Christmas. Use the season of Advent to meet again the “fiery angel of true repentance.” In the words of Eugene Peterson, “The only way the Christian life is brought to maturity is through intimacy, renunciation, and personal deepening.” John the Baptist’s purpose is to bring us along to maturity.
As we wait for joy, let us keep the spirit of Advent, “turning” (repenting) both to John and Jesus.
Philip Nesvig, pastor