His Master’s Voice

A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
And all people shall see God’s salvation.”

Thus is John the Baptist introduced in Luke’s Gospel, arriving from the scrub and starting to preach with all the tact of Jonah Lomu on the burst. The power of his preaching is apparent, with even soldiers and tax collectors seeking to change their lives.

It’s only in Luke’s account that John gives people direction for their discipleship, a precursor for some of the sermons Jesus will offer. It’s true repentance, offering people the opportunity to turn their lives around. It seems that John’s ministry is almost a cameo – within a short time, John has applied the Gospel to all, even Herod the king. John is imprisoned and before Jesus’ ministry has begun, John’s is terminated.

The cost of proclamation is clear, as is the impact of God’s action in the world – nothing (no one?) remains unchanged.

Sometimes we airbrush the words of John, or Jesus. We lay claim to our faithfulness, even if we have inherited it (“Abraham is our father!”) or claim that we have changed and no more is needed. Repentance is not one moment in our lives, it is the life of a disciple.

John invites them to change how they live from now on, not to regret the past.

What should we do? Share what you have.

What should we do? Deal fairly.

What should we do? Act justly.

It’s interesting that John doesn’t tell the dodgy tax men and the Roman oppressors to walk away from their livelihoods. He asks them instead to live their lives well.

God is refashioning the landscape one life at a time. Be assured, God will get this done, but God desires us to participate. When a person moves from thievery to service, from indolence to action, from brokenness to healing, we see God at work in the world.

The wonder of the story in which our lives are woven is that with John’s words, we expect a bulldozer, and we receive a baby. We are not asked to save the world, but to share in God’s saving of it.

In Advent and Christmas we are offered the promise of God – which is never revoked and can never be extinguished.

God transforms the world in hope and invites us to share in that hope – the birth of Jesus Christ.

God is in the world to save it.