The Feast of John the Baptist
Dear friends and members of St. Matt's,
Tomorrow is the Feast Day of John the Baptist. We know John best for the stories we hear close to Christmas, about a man wearing camel's hair and living in the wilderness. Scripture tells us that he was a rough man, he ate locusts and wild honey, and he was as the prophet Isaiah foresaw, the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.
John played an important role. He prepared God's people to hear the message of Jesus by calling them to pay attention to the world, to the signs around them. He was critical of those who would take advantage of the poor, of systems of injustice, and of anyone who put their own needs ahead of the people of God. He called everyone to repent, all people, no matter their status or station. He wanted God's people to make their lives new again through repentance and forgiveness. He baptized many in the muddy water of the Jordan and sent them back into the world ready to live new lives; lives dedicated to God and to God's law. John lived his whole life preparing himself and God's people to meet Jesus. And his work was rewarded. He saw Jesus with his own eyes, he knew that salvation and renewal was coming, and he found peace in God's promise.
Our time is quite different than John's in a great many ways. And yet, his example offers us the same invitation, the same chance to rise out of the muddy water a new creation. Each day we have a new chance to meet Jesus, in the world around us, in the people around us, in scripture and in prayer. And we particularly have that chance on Sundays as we worship together. How do you prepare yourself to hear the message of good news? How do you prepare your heart to hear the Word of God? How do you prepare yourself to meet Jesus and to be part of his new creation? In what places and pieces of your life are you in need of repentance and forgiveness?
As Christians, we share in John's baptism, the same baptism that John gave to Jesus. We are covenanted together, connected by this water, by those promises, and by this promise of new life. And we are called, like the disciples and like John, to go and prepare not just ourselves - but the whole world around us - to hear the message of Jesus. None of us are so great at that as John, and yet each of us has a part to play, work to do, gifts to use, and voice that matters. In your life, and in this world we share, how do you prepare the way of the Lord?
Know that you're in my prayers. Please be in touch if you need anything.
Faithfully,
--Marissa +
Tags: Welcome from the Rector