Friends, he’s back! That prophet, that forerunner who emerges from the wilderness every year on the second Sunday of Advent, talking about getting ready for the coming of the one more powerful than he. John the Baptist has arrived, right on time.
JBap, as he is known affectionately to Scripture nerds, appears in all four Gospels, and each contributes to the fleshing out of this unique character. Mark supplies the costume: the camel hair skins and leather belt (Mk 1:6); Matthew records some of JBap’s more scorching lines, as in, “you brood of vipers, who warned you of the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance!” (Mt 3:7-8)
John, in his Gospel, gives us JBap as witness, who says, early on, when he sees Jesus walking by, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; this is he of whom I said, after me is one who ranks ahead of me” (Jn 1:29-30). And Luke, who happens to be directing Advent this year, Luke turns our attention to the setting: the particular historical moment when JBap appears. Luke wants us to know who was supposedly running things...(read more)
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