Thought for the Week - w/b December 14th

Thought for the Week - w/b December 14th

Thought for the Week - w/b December 14th

# Church Without Walls

Thought for the Week - w/b December 14th

Thought for the Week – 14th December 2020

The Forerunner – Matthew 3: 1-12

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke (Isaiah 40: 1-11) when he said,

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord,     make his paths straight.”’

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruit worthy of repentance.  Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.  Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’”

Sunday’s Gospel reading from the Lectionary concentrated on John the Baptist, the forerunner, who was destined to herald the coming of Jesus.

John the Baptist’s function was only to be the preparer of the way and any greatness he had, came from the greatness of the one whose coming he foretold.  Much has been said in the past about John the Baptist and I’m sure most of you are familiar with the story.

John himself came from a devout and simple background, the son of an elderly priest, Zechariah, he was born during the reign of Herod and about 6 months before Jesus to whom he was related, and his mother Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin. Little is known of John’s childhood, but presumably as a child of a pious household, he would receive the normal synagogue instruction.

At some point during his youth he had become passionate about religion and took himself off into the desert where, we are told, he lived on locusts and wild honey. It is said that he joined the Essenes at Qumran for a time but John did not take their very strict vows. The Essenes were an exclusive order who are purported to have written the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

John the Baptist was the forerunner and witness to the coming of Christ. He was called "The Baptist" because his practice was to baptize those who responded to the message he proclaimed and sincerely repented of their sins. 

Jesus would fulfill the expectations the Jews had regarding the long-expected Messiah, but not in the way many Jews expected. He would meet these expectations through love and not by force as a military ruler who would drive out the Romans.

Just like John the Baptist prepared people for the coming of the Messiah, we are to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ into our lives. We are called to witness to Christ by word and deed, in good times and bad, when it suits us and when it doesn’t, when it is dangerous and when it isn’t. We are to point people to the one who taught us to care for the less fortunate in society.

We are called to risk everything that John the Baptist risked, and that includes the risk that  the person we are waiting for to do God’s will, may reveal that God’s will is not identical to ours, that God’s plans for the world may not be the same as ours.

John the Baptist made an astonishing statement when he said that he was not worthy to untie the straps of Jesus’ sandals. In those days, such a task as this was usually done only by slaves, people whose lives were not their own.  John the Baptist stated that he was not worthy to do even that. When we see that kind of utter selflessness shine forth, we know we are in the presence of something very precious. 

John the Baptist’s example is a powerful one for all Christians to follow.  People such as health care workers are also powerful examples. They humble themselves to provide compassionate care to the sick, work that other people cannot or are unable to do. This humility and care for others has been shown, and continues to be shown, during this COVID 19 pandemic.

So may God give us grace this Christmas season to prepare ourselves, to receive Jesus into our world, our lives and our hearts, to forget ourselves, and to remember and focus only on Christ, who is our Saviour and our Redeemer. 

Prayer: 

Lord, there are times when the pattern of our lives is broken and unexpected things happen. When faced with such challenges, may our first instinct be always to turn to you for guidance.  Whatever change results, may we accept it with courage and resourcefulness – safe in the knowledge that your Spirit will empower us to move forward, and that your hand will hold us steady.  With your help, may every talent we possess be developed for your service.  Amen

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