Locusts & Honey

Day 9 - The voice in the wilderness (pt 1)

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan.” River. -Matthew 3:1-6

(Photo by Laura Nyhuis on Unsplash)

There is an unexpected dimension of Advent that we will look at today: the emphasis on John the Baptist. In most of our modern churches, John the Baptist is not usually part of the the children’s production! In older church traditions, Advent includes Scripture readings that tell us about John the Baptist and his ministry, which begs the question of why. The answer is that the clear focus of John’s ministry was to point to Jesus and to prepare the way for Jesus and this is because part of Advent is about looking to Christ’s second advent, not only his first.

Another part of the answer is also that Advent is a time for personal repentance, as a means of ‘preparing the way’ within ourselves for the present and future working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Both John and Jesus preached a message of repentance; Jesus began His public ministry with this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matt. 4:17). When we think about how we prepare for Jesus’ second advent, repentance must be a central focus. Biblical scholar Francis Clooney makes this point:

“He (John) cleared a path right through his own body and mind and heart, that this small way be ready for the Lord. When John then preached to the people to change their lives and repent, he was only asking of them what he had first demanded of himself. Indeed, he was credible because he preached only what he practiced.”

For many of us, John the Baptist comes across as an extremely intense person, who wore weird clothes and lived in the desert. Perhaps that is why Clooney’s comments are so striking, because they suggest a side to John that some of us may not have considered, seeing past the outer image and into the heart of a man in whom the Holy Spirit had been working since he was in Elizabeth’s womb!

In this Advent season we would be wise to reflect on how we can, in our own hearts, ‘prepare the way of the Lord’. In what areas of our lives might we need to ‘repent’ and turn ourselves toward God in a fresh way so that we can receive His mercy and grace to help us in our time of need?

(I’d love to hear your thoughts! Share them in the comments section below so others can see them too.)