Fr. Michael Williams

St Luke introduces John the Baptist’s to us by placing him within his historical context. St Luke tells us that the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar was in his fifteenth year; Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea; the three sons of King Herod the Great held some regional power; and Caiaphas and Annas were the Jewish religious rulers of the day. So St Luke is telling us that John the Baptist’s voice rang out in the wilderness of Judea, during a politically and spiritually turbulent time; a time of uncertainty.

St John the Baptist’s voice also rings out to our contemporary world, during our own politically and spiritually turbulent time; our own times of uncertainty. John’s voice rings out through the sacred scriptures, which is the living and active word of God. John’s preaching is addressed to our own period of history during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II; the premiership of Gordon Brown; and the pontificate of Benedict XVI. John’s preaching is addressed to our society every bit as much as it was addressed to the people of Judea.

John preached to the people of Judea, and he preaches to us this Advent, ‘a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’. Repentance, the Greek word is metanoia, refers to a complete change in perspective, a change in lifestyle. Thus to repent is to change one’s life; to make an effort, by the help of God’s grace, to reject sin and selfishness, and to live a good life pleasing to the Lord. This is what John’s preaching was all about. We are only baptised once, but we are called to live out our baptism on a daily basis; we are called to turn away from sin and turn toward Christ and His love each day. The promises made at baptism have to be lived out daily, and when we fail to do that, we are called to the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the forgiveness of our sins. Advent is a good time to receive this sacrament as we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas.

The season of Advent allows us to ‘prepare a way for the Lord’. There are a great many distractions which could easily take our focus away from the true meaning of this season. Many people are caught up by excessive consumerism and self-indulgence during this time of year, and then there is no room for Christ in their lives. Yet John the Baptist calls us to ‘prepare a way for the Lord’ so that ‘the loving kindness of the heart of our God [Christ]’ will enter into our hearts. This is the greatest joy we can receive this season.

2,000 years have elapsed since John first preached the need for a change of heart, but we can see that this message, which comes from God, is as relevant as ever. So this Advent let us ‘Prepare a way for the Lord by living a good life and let us guard that way by good works’ (Origen).