In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, the
word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He came into
the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission
of sins. As it is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord.
Make his paths straight.
Every valley will be filled.
Every mountain and hill will be brought low.
The crooked will become straight,
and the rough ways smooth.
All flesh will see God’s salvation.’”
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt
around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem,
all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. They were
baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
This is what John said, when the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
He declared, “I am not the Messiah.”
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
They said therefore to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer
to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Reflections
For centuries, Hebrew prophets had
been declaring that the Day of the Lord would come in which everything wrong
with the world would be made right: violence, injustice and suffering would give
way to peace and well-being. John’s message was that people had better get
ready because these ancient prophecies were about to come true.
This is a
message that still speaks to us. What troubles you the most about the world
today? What would it take for the world’s problems to come to go away?
Prayer:
Help me be like John the Baptist, Lord, pointing people to your kingdom of
peace and well-being.
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