“Preparing the Way”
The Hebrew people of first century Palestine lived in a time of expectancy and hope. Chafing under Roman rule, the words of the Old Testament prophets proclaiming the coming of a Messiah were fresh in their minds. Here and there, odd characters were popping up who claimed to be a prophet or even the Messiah, the Christ, the “anointed one”. The Roman authorities were nervous about the rising pitch of nationalistic fervor. Jewish religious leaders were nervous too. Not only did they need to help keep the peace to assuage their Roman rulers, who allowed them a certain degree of authority, but they also felt a responsibility as guardians of their faith to validate someone’s claims to be a prophet. And if that “someone” was born of priestly lineage but was coloring outside the lines, as it were—living austerely, performing ritual baptisms, preaching repentance in anticipation of the Lord’s coming, and attracting quite a large following—then it is understandable that the religious leaders would want to make inquiries of this person. Perhaps this person might even be the Christ, so best to check it out. So a delegation from the Jewish religious establishment comes to “interview” the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, named John.
As we heard in our gospel reading, the priests along with Levites who assisted the priests in the temple, ask John the Baptist point blank if he is the Christ. “I am not the Christ,” answers John. Then they ask him if he is Elijah. They have in mind the words of Malachi, Chapter 4, verse 5: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” But John says to his questioners, “I am not.” He is saying he is not the literal person Elijah who was assumed bodily into heaven and now has come back in flesh and blood. So there is no real contradiction between John’s denial that he is Elijah and the words of the holy angel who told John’s father, Zechariah, that “…he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” [St. Luke 1: 17] Nor does he contradict the words of Jesus in Matthew, Chapter 11, where our Lord states “And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.” [Matthew 11:14]. Jesus is making a spiritual assertion consistent with the holy angel’s message that John has come “in the spirit and power of Elias” as a forerunner of Christ’s first coming, just as the person Elijah will come before Christ’s second coming. A few verses prior, our Lord has already affirmed the important spiritual role of John the Baptist as the one who fulfills the words of the prophet Malachi: “For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.’ [Malachi 3:1]
Next, the religious authorities wonder if John could be the Prophet that Moses had predicted would come in Deuteronomy 18:15: “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken.” To their question, John has a simple one word answer: “No.” Now, having gone through their list of likely suspects, the religious leaders ask, somewhat exasperated, “Who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself.” John replies, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” Here John the Baptist is claiming he is the fulfillment of Isaiah 40: 3, which reads: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” This passage has interesting connotations. In ancient times in that part of the world, it was customary for a king or ruler who needed to journey somewhere to send out his servants to command the people to remove stones from the dirt roads and generally get them in good shape so the king’s chariot would have a smoother ride. John the Baptist is here assuming a servant’s role, calling the Israelites to prepare the road over which God would make Himself known to His people, the road which leads to their very being as a covenant people. Finally, the Pharisees, who are among the questioners, chime in, asking why John is baptizing if he isn’t the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet. As strict interpreters of the law, the Pharisees were always punctilious about adhering to proper rituals and traditions. Baptism was a purification ritual used by some Jews, particularly among the monastic-like sect called the Essenes, which scholars think John may have been associated with. Non-Jews were baptized when they converted to Judaism, but John was also baptizing Jews. So, the Pharisees were in a huff about why John was treating Jews like Gentiles, and wanted to know by what authority he was doing so. To the Pharisees’ question, John the Baptist admits he baptizes with water, but implies that in comparison to the One who will come after him, he is even lower than a slave, which is who would untie the sandals of a master. In other words, John is baptizing out of deepest humility and commitment to the Truth of the incarnate Word, not out of any delusional ego trip. John’s baptism is a symbolic cleansing. A cleansing that is preparatory, and in no way equivalent to, the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ provides to those whose hearts are prepared and open to His Word. The preparatory role of John’s activities is further underlined by the last verse of our gospel passage, which mentions these events occurred at “Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.” Bathabara means “house of preparation.”
We’ve seen how St. John’s gospel emphasizes a clear distinction between John the Baptist’s role and that of the Messiah who will come after him. Not all of the Jews could fully grasp that distinction. But lest we get too smug, we should ask ourselves during this Advent season, “What have we done to prepare the way of the Lord?” Have we cleared away the stones of sin from our lives so our Lord will have a clearer pathway into our hearts and lives? Do we have the same excitement and expectancy about the coming celebration of the birth of Christ that the Jews had about the immanent arrival of a Messiah? If we don’t like our answers to these questions, what can we do about it? How can we “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance,” as John the Baptist exhorts the Pharisees and Sadducees in St. Matthew 3: 8? Read St. Luke 3 and you’ll find a few specific recommendations given to the crowd by John the Baptist when people ask him “What shall we do?” Acts of charity, giving to those without adequate clothing or food, are the first things mentioned. We can increase our practice of the spiritual disciplines – pray, worship, fast, say the rosary, read scripture. St. Paul’s advice in Romans 12: 1-21 is important to heed as we exercise our spiritual gifts. Some of these are obviously harder to do than others, such as “Bless those who persecute you”. But go ahead and take a risk with some baby steps in areas outside your comfort zone. You may soon find yourself “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” as St. Paul says in Romans 12: 2. You may even end up in the company of wise men and shepherds, next to the Holy Family, kneeling in joyful adoration at the manger crib of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And now unto God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all might, majesty, honor, and dominion, as is most justly due this day, both now and forever, Amen.