John the Baptist is a character in Sacred Scripture that intentionally comes our way each Advent. He stands as that prophetic witness announcing the good news of the coming of Jesus Christ. Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths is the simple proclamation that John the Baptist offers. Yet, if we examine closely the role of John the Baptist in the context of Sacred Scripture we know that what he says is radical to the people of Jesus’ time.
John is the last of the great prophets. As the last prophet, we know that he stands as an image of what it means to be set aside for a particular purpose. The people of Jesus’ time were well aware of the prophetic tradition at hand. The people of that time were accustomed to what was known as the prophetic schools. These schools were vastly different than our understanding of a school today. Initially, they were followers of the prophets who took their sayings and incorporated it into their lives.
Elisha and Elijah both had groups of people following them around. Scripture scholars hold that in following the prophets around that a band of people would process with instruments, singing songs and announcing the presence of the prophet. These schools developed over time, and at the time of Jesus there existed a group of people who lived in the wilderness living the Jewish faith in a manner different than the Pharisees and Sadducees and it is thought that John the Baptist was part of this group of people. They were set apart, and they dressed differently, ate differently and spoke of the Lord differently. There was a holy otherness to this group of people.
It was because of this otherness, this being set apart that drew people to him at the river. There was an authenticity with what he was saying that made people want to hear him. It is in this authenticity, that John the Baptist shines. He was not the most eloquent of preachers, he preached very simply with his life. People knew that he believed what he was saying.
As Catholics, then we can learn a bit about what it means to be a Catholic during Advent itself. Much like John the Baptist, Advent is a time for us to be set apart for the Lord to work in our lives. Maybe this Advent it is a good opportunity for us to take a little bit of time each day to reflect upon what the Lord is calling us to in our daily lives. When we go to work, is God inviting us to treat our coworkers differently? Is God inviting us to reflect upon how our work helps further the message of salvation? It is easy to become stuck in the routine of thinking that what we do is make a living to support a family, but how does our work proclaim the Gospel.
One of the great witnesses of the Second Vatican Council was the acknowledgment of how our work is a proclamation of the Gospel. When we do our work well, when we master the task at hand we give praise to God, but more importantly we give witness to those who may have never encountered our Lord before. This Advent stands as a good opportunity for us to ask St. John the Baptist to intercede for us, that our lives (as varied as they are) may proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord.
