Make his paths straight

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way;

the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight” ’,

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

- Mark 1:1-13

In the Lectionary cycle, we begin today with the beginning of the gospel of Mark. In some way, this is fitting, because, although yesterday's reading was from the middle of the book of John, we ended with the words of John the Baptist. The leadership seeks to kill Jesus, and he has retired to the region beyond the Jordan, "where John was baptizing at first," and John's followers now become Jesus' disciples. So, we start again with John the Baptist and the context for the words from Isaiah quoted in yesterday's commentary.

My study bible writes of John, "Chosen before his birth to be the herald and forerunner of the Messiah (Luke 1:13-17, see also Commentary here), he knew his Lord from the beginning." John is considered the last prophet of the Old Testament period, who fulfills prophecy and prepares the people for the Messiah's coming. John's baptism is for repentance, a preparation for the One who is to come. So, we begin this Lenten reading with the need for turning, or in the original Greek metanoia, "change of mind." We are going through an initiation experience with John the Baptist, the last of the old and the first of the new, in some sense. We are prepared for a new time, for our eyes to be opened, or as my study bible puts it, "hearts are softened to receive the Light." It is a shifting time. John is dressed in the garb of Elijah, indicating the fulfillment of the prophecy that Elijah would return.

We are told that people from the whole of Judea went out to be baptized by John. He was an extremely popular figure. My study bible notes that John is, at this time, perhaps the leading religious figure outside of official and rabbinic Judaism. Yet, he is pointing elsewhere: " The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." John's baptism is with water, but to be baptized in Spirit is something else altogether, something which can be given only by the One who is to come. "In adoption," my study bible notes, "Christians become anointed ones; it was of these God said, 'Do not touch My anointed ones' (Ps. 105:15)."

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.' My study bible notes that Jesus' rising from the water is symbolic of his Ascension: the same Greek verb is used to refer to both events. The Church Fathers taught that in coming up, Christ lifts the whole world with him. The Spirit descending foreshadows the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost. It also notes that "like a dove" doesn't mean the Holy Spirit incarnated as a dove, but rather this is a sign that indicates the presence of the Spirit (much in the way that Jesus' miracles were not "proofs" but signs of the Father and his divinity). A dove symbolizes purity, peace and wisdom. We must read depth into these stories, and understand notions of "sign" that take us into our own depths and relationship and prayer. This is also, of course, the first appearance of the Holy Trinity, an epiphany or Theophany. The proclamation combines a messianic psalm (Ps. 2:7) with the first song of the Suffering Servant of the Lord (Is. 42:1). This revelation anticipates therefore Jesus' Transfiguration and Resurrection; in the words of my study bible, "the dawning of a new creation."

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. My study bible notes that this initiation period in which Jesus is tempted inaugurates his role as Lamb of God - "the suffering and obedient Son of God whose destiny is the Cross by God's will." Forty days echoes the forty years of Israel's temptations in the OT and becomes the basis for the forty-day period of Great Lent in later Christian tradition." Christ is the new Adam, being with the beasts and the angels. Again, I quote from my study bible (as so much of these notes are worthwhile): "Even if we are subjected to evil, (the demons, the beasts) God will never desert us as we struggle toward Him. The Church Fathers believed meditative seclusion is (1) conducive to freer communion with God and (2) effective preparation for great tasks ahead." Certainly we will see Jesus return to periods of seclusion and prayer throughout his ministry.

As we dig more deeply into Great Lent at this time, it is fitting that we read of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. What's your struggle? This passage, and the commentary (and the extensive notes from my study bible), remind us that we are anointed. We travel a similar journey, in that we are never alone. What do you battle in your life? Remember that by virtue of this anointing, you are not alone. Withdraw and pray, enter into dialogue, communicate. Seek that central place in the heart where there is silence, and you can listen. Do as Jesus did, and battle what you need to battle there, in the silence, with help that is not going to desert you, that prepares you for the choices - and the way - ahead.