Today, we read the advent story of John the Baptizer crying
“Prepare”.
I want to start with a couple of thoughts about John. Some
of you may have heard me say this before but I think it is worth repeating.
John is often depicted as a strange wild hermit living in
the Wilderness. We have all seen the pictures, ragged clothes and long unkempt
hair. These are images of the art world. Today, I wanted to put forward an
alternative suggestion.
John was not living wildly in the Wilderness but had been
sent to the Essenes at Qumram for training. This religious group was smaller
than the Pharisees and the Sadduces. They were an ascetic monastic group who
had a monastery at Qumram which was destroyed in 68AD by the Romans. It was on
this site in 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It is a possibility that it
was in this setting of prayer and learning that “the word of God came to John.”
This view does change how we view John. However, I do want
to add that scholars are divided about this so I am just presenting it for
perusal.
The second comment I want to make about John is about
relationship. When Mary was pregnant she immediately turned to Elizabeth.
Therefore, I think we need to remember that John and Jesus probably had a
significant relationship. They were cousins. They probably grew up knowing each
other. Maybe they even played together! I’m sure they would have known the
circumstances of their births, the prophecies given and the connection between
them.
With these two thoughts in mind a very different picture
emerges. An educated, cultured John, wearing the simple robes of an Essene
proclaiming that the time for his cousin to be revealed was at hand and the
people need to prepare.
I do want to consider preparation. It is a very common word
in our culture. We use it all the time. Last week Andy talked about how we are
in a state of constant change. This fits in with the need to prepare. Not only
are we constantly changing we are constantly preparing. We want to be ready,
then, as soon as we are, it is time to start preparing for the next thing.
We prepare daily as we go about our lives: cutting
vegetables for dinner, setting the table, washing clothes to wear later in the
week, etc. Some preparations are
larger, more significant, more life-changing than others. If I think back over
my life these big changes would include leaving home to go to college, getting
married, each new child born, moving house, moving to a new culture, children
leaving, etc, etc. I’m sure each of you could make your own list. I can still
remember the excitement of preparing for these special occasions in my life.
However, I think John is talking about something deeper here
than the next stage in our lives (although those are deep and significant). He
is talking about something that will not only touch individual lives but will
shape a culture. It is an amazing declaration that “all flesh will see the
salvation of God.” (History proves that the culture was indeed changed.)
Yet we can still take the word “Prepare” and consider it for
ourselves this advent. What does it mean to us? Andy asked me yesterday, “What
else have we got to do before Christmas?” Of course, we were talking about
doing the practical things and these too do need preparation.
Yet we can, and should, also apply that question to our
spiritual lives. “What else have we got to do before Christmas?” We may not be
going to do or say anything as profound or life changing as John did. Yet we
can prepare. We can examine what Christmas means to us. We can seek the meaning
of Christmas in our lives and homes.
Ironically, for many people, this is a really busy time of
year. Sometimes I fear we lose the season in the business. So this week I want
us all to heed the prophet’s words and take a little time to prepare. Prepare the
way of our God.
