It is not uncommon for a king, queen, prince, president,
pope or dignitary to send an envoy to prepare for their arrival, making sure
that everything is in order, making sure that the safety of the one to come is
guarded.
That is why we would think that to prepare for Christ’s arrival, He would send legions of angels, countless saints, thousands of dignitaries, kings, queens, princes and the like, but He didn’t, instead he sent one man, “a voice of one crying out in the desert,” with a simple message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
While it may difficult to picture St. John as someone other than those whom we see on the street corners holding signs telling us the “end is near,” the difference is that he had a following, so much so, that the Pharisees and Sadducees even came to him to be baptized. While his response was not the most charitable, his message of repentance was clear, for he wanted them to, as he puts it: “produce good fruit as evidence of…repentance.”
In other words, he wanted to prepare them to be sincere in their desire, he wanted them, as he wanted everyone, to know who was coming after him, that while he had the power to baptize with water for repentance, the one who was coming after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
So that that baptism would not just bring repentance, but would transform the very heart of the person being baptized. Because, to truly prepare for the coming of Christ, it wasn’t enough for them to perform the ritual, they needed to experience true conversion, which, quite simply, is a complete turning of heart and mind to God.
This is the way St. John prepared the people, and he lived it himself, for while it may seem strange for him to wear camel’s hair with a leather belt and to feast upon locusts and wild honey, this was a sign of his own dedication and who he was. Because, typically, what he was wearing was common for a prophet but his diet was one of the most extreme forms of penance that one could practice.
In fact, as St. Peter Chrysologous, an early Church Father explains: “locusts intended for sinners worthy of chastisement are rightly considered to be food for repentance, so that bounding from the place of sin to the place of repentance the sinner may fly to heaven on the wings of forgiveness.”
Yet, despite his appearance, despite the zeal and intensity with which he preached and spoke, he converted many, he baptized and he brought the message that someone will come after him, who is even greater, so that this lone voice in the desert, the most unlikely, became incredibly popular. So that even he, who had many followers, would bow down before Christ, knowing he was unworthy to even loosen the thongs of his sandals.
This was something seen as so menial, and so degrading, that only a slave would do this, and even then, sometimes even a slave was not allowed. And the reason is because, during that time, there was no running water or even access to water all the time, so where you walked and the animals you walked with, would stay with you on your sandals until you got the chance to wash them and your feet.
Yet, this shows who St. John was and the depth of his humility, because he knew that he had one purpose and that was to spiritually prepare himself and the people for the coming of the Lord, to be a messenger, and to always draw attention away from himself and instead towards Christ.
And, we are asked to do the same, to follow his example, to heed his message, a simple message summed up in one word: “repentance,” a word that means more than just being sorry for our sins, it is a word that means and that demands that we not just turn away from sin, but seek to live a life that is daily changed and seeks each day to be more and more conformed to God.
St. Josemaria Escriva puts it well, he says: “To rectify. A little each day. — This must be your constant concern if you really want to become a saint.” Because, each time we allow ourselves to be changed by God, each time we allow ourselves to be more and more transformed by His Will, by His life, our lives start to change, our view of life starts to change, and our focus is no longer on ourselves, but, indeed, on God.
That is what the season of Advent is all about, this is what it reminds us and calls us to, repentance, the forgiveness of our sins, and to daily prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior, because, while His First Coming changed the world, His Second Coming will transform it, and we will see, as we heard in our first reading, a new Eden, a place where sin and its consequences will no longer exist.
Today there is no St. John the Baptist to prepare or warn us, nor should there be, because we already have all the tools, all the prophets and all the resources necessary. Therefore, then let us follow the example of those before us, seeking repentance, cleansing our conscience and properly preparing ourselves as we await His return.
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