Make His paths straight

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled

And every mountain and hill brought low;

The crooked places shall be made straight

And the rough ways smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

- Luke 3:1-14

Throughout the past couple of weeks, from Good Friday on, we have been reading Jesus' Farewell Discourse to His Apostles in the Gospel of John. Yesterday, we read His great summing up, His final words of prayer to the Father concerning the Apostles and the future Church, those who would follow. We read the tremendous words of love, of belonging and relationship, that encompasses all who "abide in Him" -- and how He prepares a place for all to be with Him. Jesus' beautiful words reinforce the power of love as His ministry, speaking to the Father that He loved the Apostles as He was loved by the Father, adding, ... "for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." He prayed, "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." Today, the lectionary takes us to the Gospel of Luke, where we begin with the work of John the Baptist, in chapter 3.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. Luke has been called the "historian" of the Evangelists because he gives dates and places -- a historical reference for the events of which he writes. My study bible points out that from these references it can be concluded that John the Baptist's and Jesus' ministries began sometime between A.D. 26 and 28. Pilate was the governor of Judea from A.D. 26-36. Caiaphas was the sole official high priest -- but it was widely recognized that the power behind him was his father-in-law Annas (a previous high priest who had been deposed by the Romans). Earlier in his Gospel, Luke has written about the conception and birth and naming of John the Baptist, his father Zacharias and his mother Elizabeth, so readers are already familiar with him.

And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" John begins the momentous preparation for what is to come, and this is his ministry, to be the herald of the kingdom. My study bible points out that the call to repentance was typical of the Old Testament prophets, "but John's baptism for the remission of sins sounds a deeper note: a symbolic washing away of sins, prefiguring that which will come. As Paul writes in Rom. 6:2-6, those who come to Christ will be buried with Him in baptism, rising to new life." Isaiah's prophecy here gives us a particular insight: it is an evening up, a making the way straight -- and it will be reflected in the words of John the Baptist in his preaching in the verses that follow. This repentance is also about justice: a kind of regard for others in which we see reflected the love of God -- and so, poignant in the reflection on the Scripture from John's Gospel that we have been reading. Luke is also known as the "beloved physician," and his emphasis on true justice -- compassion at work -- is revealed here. (Luke will be the Evangelist who gives us the story of the Good Samaritan.) In this case, the quotation from Isaiah not only reflects the greatness of the One who is to come, but also His absolute effect of evening out all differences -- that we all stand equally before Him, revealing who we truly are, and what we need. Thus, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins in the face of the One who will be true Judge, who knows us as we truly are, and calls us all to Him.

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." John sounds a word of warning: we can't rest in who our ancestors are, our Tradition, or the authority that has come before. We stand before Him as ourselves, with whatever it is we truly bear within us, in our hearts. My study bible says, "Ethnic or 'spiritual' ancestry does not guarantee security in the face of God's judgment. Only faithful repentance and good works worthy of it bring salvation. Stones symbolize Gentile Christians who became children of God." The power of God to create is emphasized in order to make a point: none of us is above the responsibility we bear as God's children. We mustn't presume an inheritance we fail to value, the life of love that God offers to us.

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." What is it to bear fruits worthy of repentance? to bear good fruit? Here, it is the kind of "evening up" through compassion, love in action, that is at the heart of righteousness or true justice. They are to help the poor, and those in positions of authority are not to abuse that authority, but to be fair and just, not corrupt. It is a blueprint for a righteous life, lived within the boundaries of the awareness of God's love and the righteousness to which we are all called. We are asked to bear fruits -- to abide in His love and His word. John sets the world at readiness for the One who is to come by emphasizing what it means to live a righteous life. But it is clear that he is in preparation for what is to come; we are getting ready here in this Gospel reading.

What is it to anticipate that Judge, the Christ, who is the knower-of-hearts? In yesterday's reading, we culminated the Farewell Discourse of Jesus to the Apostles, with the great emphasis on love and relationship, and the love of the Father that goes through Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Apostles, and to all of us who constitute the future Church. Some people -- many -- might say that there is a seemingly great contradiction between the image of the Judge here and the loving Christ of John's Gospel. But it is also the Evangelist John who brought us the Revelation, and I see no contradiction. God who is the God of Love asks us to live and abide in His word, in that love, and the call to repentance calls us to bear fruits worthy of His judgment, His compassion and His love. We, too, are to live that life of love and its righteousness. How else do we "abide in Him?" The words of Isaiah emphasize the great equality that all people bear before Him. How then, shall we act and bear fruit in that image of standing before this One who is to appear? We think of justice, of true righteousness, of the "evening out" in the great equality before us that is truly in our hearts when we see who we are beyond our possessions. How do we use our authority? Do we act in a selfish manner? With what responsibility do we live our lives? In the face of justice, of the knower-of-hearts, do we understand where we are and what we do? Let us consider then, the God of love who was and is and is to come, and how we live when we are called to remember Him.