Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight

 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.'"

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think 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.

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

- Matthew 3:1-12

Yesterday, we read that when the wise men had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word, for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."  When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."  Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all his its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:  "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."  Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."  Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.  And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.  And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:   "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  My study bible tells us that "the wilderness of Judea is the barren region descending from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.  Preparation for Jesus' ministry begins with the call of John the Baptist to repent.  The reason:  the kingdom . . . is at hand.  Repentance, which always accompanies belief, is a total about-face.  It is a radical change of one's spirit, mind and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life and being.  It is the necessary first step on the way of the LORD (v. 3) and is followed by the confession of sins, the decisive act of baptism, and actual change in one's life, the 'fruits worthy of repentance' (vv. 6, 8-12)."  Here, the Baptist is quoting from Isaiah.

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.   From these details we understand John's ascetic lifestyle.  My study bible says it's in conformity with other Jewish sects like the Essenes, "who made their home in the wilderness and whose purpose was to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God.  His clothing is typical of a prophet.  Elijah, who also wore a leather belt (2 Kings 1:8), was the prophet expected to prepare Israel for the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6).  Monastics especially follow in Elijah's and the Baptist's mission of repentance and prophecy."  The Gospel tells us of John's popularity and high regard when it says that "Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan" went to be baptized by John.  John's baptism is for repentance, a preparation for receiving the Messiah.  Christian baptism includes repentance, but also the promise of adoption as a child of God, rebirth in Spirit.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"  John addresses members of the leadership.  My study bible says that they are "skeptical of John's mission and oppose Jesus.  Sadducees, members of the high-priestly and landowning class, controlled the temple and the internal political affairs of the Jews.  Denying the resurrection of the dead, they had no messianic hope.  The Pharisees were a lay religious movement centered on the study of the Law and on strict observance of all its regulations.  They believed in resurrection and cherished a messianic hope, but taught that the resurrection to righteousness is attained solely on the power of one's good works according to Mosaic Law, and that the Messiah was only a glorious man.  John's epithet for them, brood of vipers, sharply denounces their malice as influenced by 'the snake,' the Adversary, Satan (Job 1:6)."  It was John's outspokenness and fearlessness that made him a revered figure, and popularly understood to be a holy man.

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think 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."  These themes will play out in the Gospel, as Jesus' message goes to all the world.  My study bible says that "repentance, confession, and baptism lead to fruits worthy of repentance, a way of life consonant with the expected messianic Kingdom (see Gal. 5:22-25).  If no fruit appears, sacramental acts and spiritual discipline are useless.  Thus in icons of John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan, often an ax is pictured on a fruitless tree.  The warning that from these stones (Hebrew 'ebanim) God can raise up children (Heb. banim) is a Hebrew play on words.  God does not admit fruitless children into His house; He creates new children from the Gentiles.  Even now shows that the Baptist anticipates divine judgment on God's people through the coming of the Messiah.  Fire, a symbol of destruction, often describes the final judgment (see Is. 33:11; Ezek. 38:22; 39:6; Zeph. 1:18)."

 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  My study bible says, "John's baptism of water only prepares for Christ's baptism of water and the Holy Spirit.  Christ baptizes in fire, for as the grace of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire, so is that grace poured out in baptism.  In John's culture, a slave would carry the king's sandals.  Thus John powerfully contrasts himself with God's Son, Jesus the Messiah."  It adds that the figure of winnowing the threshed grain from the chaff is a metaphor for divine judgment, which always separates good from evil."

Fire figures prominently in John the Baptist's preaching in today's reading.  Fire, as my study bible points out, can be a symbol of destruction, but it is also a symbol for God or God's energies at work in the world (as in the tongues of fire on Pentecost, mentioned above).  We receive fire as a symbol for God in the burning bush seen by Moses on Mt. Horeb.  In today's lectionary reading, the Old Testament reading tells us of Elijah's request of God to bring fire on a sacrifice, over and against the prophets of Baal.  Fire isn't only a destructive force, it's a purifying one.  The fire that burned on Mt. Horeb, in which Moses witnessed the presence of God, did not consume the bush.  In icons of the Eastern Church, Mary the Mother of God is also pictured as a "type" of this burning bush, for she also was "God-bearer" who was not consumed.  Fire, then, becomes a symbol of purity and purifying, and that which tests things (as in testing metals for purity).  Many mystics and saints have spoken of the holy fire which does not consume but indicates the presence of the Spirit.  "Repentance" and "bearing fruits worthy of repentance" are closely linked to the symbol of the fire, because via a constant process of repentance, we, too, are purified in the work of the Holy Spirit within us.  Throughout our lives we may stumble upon ways in which we are given to understand that we have ways of thinking that are flawed, habitual perspectives that need changing.  Repentance (metanoia in the Greek, meaning literally "change of mind") becomes a way of turning around and facing back toward God; in this case, the perfect parallel is found in today's passages in which John the Baptist urges everyone to turn toward the Kingdom via repentance.  He teaches us to prepare to receive the Messiah by turning around, turning one's back on the false, on what keeps us from standing in the holy fire without being burnt:  repentance is the act which discards from us that which will burn in the fire.  The trees which do not bear good fruit are those which are consumed in the fire.  Let us consider what it is to meet God, as Moses at the burning bush, as Mary giving birth to God the Word in the flesh, as the children of Israel being called by John the Baptist to repent and be baptized in preparation for the Messiah.  It is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  What fruits do we bring to Him?  What is it we want to turn away from?  How does the Spirit and fire help us to discern and learn what things we need to leave behind, to turn our backs to?  What does it promise in exchange?  How do you meet it today?  A prophet's function is to make us aware.  John the Baptist is considered the greatest and the last in the line of Old Testament prophets.  To what do his words wake you today?