Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

Luke 1:5-17New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

It wouldn't be Advent without John the Baptist.

He's always been kind of an elusive figure for me, evoking more questions than anything else.  Even his birth reminds us of stories of Old Testament prophets (Samuel to be specific!), and in fact here and in other gospels, he is directly tied to the prophet Elijah.  And like the prophets of old, John calls his hearers to repentance. 

So John seems as if he is a lynchpin to the past.  

Yet he is also connected intimately with the new thing God is doing in Jesus.

He is a great transitional figure.

John is called the Baptist or the Baptiser, and yet in the gospel of John he doesn't baptize Jesus, as he does in the other gospels.  Instead John is a witness to Jesus' coming.

Yet for being a witness to the Christ, John is also uncertain.  He will eventually ask Jesus "ARE you the one? Or should we wait for another?"  He, like us perhaps, moves from complete confidence to questioning.

A good reminder perhaps that while John is a witness, a preparer, he is not the One.

Even prophets can have feet of clay.

It is only in the gospel of Luke that we have any familial connection made between Jesus and John, (so it is entirely possible that they did not know each other before Jesus' ministry).    This birth narrative in Luke of John harkens back strongly to the story of Samuel.  

Samuel we know as the one who made the way for David to be king.  And now John makes way for this new Son of David to be a new kind of king.

Whether or not Jesus and John were related, John comes as the figure who will make way for the Messiah.  He is the one to lay the groundwork, and prepare the pathway.  He sets the stage.  That we have conflicting reports of him is perhaps confusing, but it also helps remind us that John is not the way himself.

And so, for a little musical interlude to remind us of John and of the divine breaking into our ordinary, every day life, I want to share a pretty awesome rendition of "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord" from the musical Godspell, as a flash mob during a church service.

Maybe John was the witness to the ultimate flash mob??

(video found here: Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord - flash mob)

Prepare our hearts and minds and feet for your way, Oh, Lord.  Amen.