"Make straight the way of the Lord," as the prophet Isaiah said

 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

- John 1:19-28

In yesterday's reading, we began reading John's Gospel with what is known as its Prologue:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"  And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."  The focus of the Gospel shifts from the Prologue, which gave us a sense of who Christ is as Son, and how the Christ became Incarnate as human being in a saving mission for the world.  Now we begin to read in sharp focus about Christ's ministry and its beginnings.  It started with John the Baptist and his witness.  The Gospel itself will give us seven consecutive days, as does Genesis, which is in keeping with the focus of the Prologue and its message of "in the beginning."  Today's reading gives us the first day of Jesus' public ministry, and it must begin with John the Baptist.  He bears witness to the Light -- the Christ -- in the presence of the Jews, the priests and Levites who were sent to question him.  As we read John's Gospel, it is important to remember that the term "the Jews" was by the time of its writing used here most often as a type of political term; it denotes the leadership which was in opposition to the disciples of Christ.  All the people in the Gospel, with few exceptions, are Jews, including John the Baptist, Jesus' disciples, and Jesus Himself -- and that includes the author of the Gospel as well.  These men sent from Jerusalem are like religious regulators, they are the ones with the authority who question John.  John's witness to them parallels the creation of light on the first day in Genesis 1:3-5.  John the Baptist is considered the last and greatest of all the Old Testament type prophets, but he is not "the Prophet," that is, the Messiah whose coming was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  John the Baptist quotes from Isaiah 40:3, to teach us about his role in the history of salvation and the story of the Christ.

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.  The Pharisees are an important party of the leadership, the Council.  They will most often form the opposition to Christ and His questioners, but there are also those among them who will be followers of Christ.   The Baptist is asked about Elijah because there was a prophecy that Elijah would return before the Messiah came (Malachi 4:5-6); Jesus will later of say of John that he is Elijah returned in spirit (Matthew 11:11-14).

John's Gospel immediately sets up the vying interests and parties that will play a role in the ministry of Jesus and what is to come.  The religious authorities send those from Jerusalem who question John the Baptist.  What is he doing?  Who is he?  What is his authority to baptize?  Authority will play the key role in the story of Christ and the opposition to His ministry.  Who is the highest authority?  Where does that authority come from?  Over and over again, the story of Christ will point us back to the Source of all authority.  Here, John the Baptist makes an allusion to the power of the Messiah who is to come, and the comparatively weak power of his own baptism in preparation for the Christ.  John baptizes with water for repentance, so that people are prepared to meet the Lord.  It is the way to "'make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."  Hidden behind all things is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the world, who will play His role in the baptism of Christ that is to come, and the beginning of Jesus' public ministry in the world.  Because of the work of the Spirit (and indeed the Trinity that will be revealed in Christ's baptism), all that we read here is timeless.  It reflects events that happened long ago, but to "make straight the way of the Lord" through repentance remains our number one way of coming to terms with who we are, and becoming the persons that Christ calls us to be.  It is the one way we meet our Lord truly, in the honesty and openness of being called back to the Lord and giving our lives to His will for us.  John prepares the people for the advent of the Messiah, but each of our lives remain that place, with the road within us that needs to be made straight for the way of the Lord.  We give all things over to the power of God, the Spirit that is always with us, at work in the world, to Christ, and to the Father, who may make their way to dwell within us (John 14:23).   What we will find as faithful is that the words are timeless, they are with us now, even as we seek to dwell in the present and resolve our own questions and problems and struggles within us.  "Make straight the way of the Lord" -- from Isaiah to John to our present life, this is the way that points to the Christ, in whom we find what is truly needed.