Becoming John

 Daily Readings for Sunday 7 December

First Reading   ~  Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Psalm   ~  85
Second Reading ~ 2 Peter 3:8-14

Gospel   ~ Mark 1:1-8

This Advent I'm learning - slowly and imperfectly - how to make room for a Babe in my heart and my life. This daily series at Ardent Devotion documents my journey with God's word throughout Advent, and the little ways in which He is revealing His Truth to me day by day. I invite you to join with me in committing to a Christ-filled Advent, so that we can arrive at the manger-side with wondrous hearts.

 The 2nd Sunday of Advent

Tonight I visited my old youth group for their final gathering of the year. It was a beautiful evening, and I'm super excited to re-invest in a lot of old relationships over the course of the next month while I'm home. Youth group is usually meant to finish somewhere between 8 and 8.30pm, and so, in typical Catholic fashion, at about 9.30pm we began to head for the car.

Late as we were in leaving, one of the perks of our timing was that the moon was just rising as we walked out into the carpark. And boy, what a moon it was. Magnificent, enormous, burnt-gold in colour and as full as an American on Thanksgiving night. I had to stop and marvel. It just took my breath away. "LOOK at THAT!" I exclaimed to the two guys I was carpooling with. They glanced up, not especially interested, and made no comment. I couldn't fathom their reaction. It was just so mind-boggling beautiful. But then, I've always been a moon-lover. From my childhood favourite Goodnight Moon to the Moon of "Bear and the Big Blue House", the orb in the night sky has captivated me through the years.

And truth be told, the moon sometimes does get a bit more credit than the sun. People actually enjoy looking upon it, because its light isn't half so blinding. There's something fantastic about contrast, as well. A bright light on a dark sky is so much more notable than a bright light on a light sky. But without the sun, the moon has no light. It does nothing more than reflect the light of the sun before the sun rises again in the morning.

Today, as Mark the Evangelist begins his grand retelling of the Good News of Jesus Christ, he introduces the first in his cast of characters: John. This eccentric fellow eats locusts and wild honey, wears a camel's skin and goes about pouring water on people. Indeed, I'd rather question what Mark was doing to begin his account of salvation with such a peculiar gentleman as John the Baptist. Question it I don't, however, because, hearkening back to Isaiah, Mark makes it very clear why it's necessary to begin with John.

You see, John was the moon. He wasn't the light. He wasn't the Mighty One of Israel who had come to free people from their sins. He wasn't God. But he was a reflector. More than that, he was the promise of a new light about to dawn. He was the one sent by God to make straight the path for the Lord to come, and prepare the hearts of the people for Jesus.

In some ways, the moon is our preparation for greater light. It doesn't hurt our eyes to look at the moon. It is beautiful, but we aren't dazzled and blinded by its glory. Yet the light of the moon does not give life. It does not illuminate the whole earth. It doesn't light up the whole sky it inhabits. But it allows us to behold the light of the sun, reflected, while protecting us from its power.

John was the peoples' preparation for a greater light. He introduced people to the concept of God's mercy and forgiveness, and he shone among men as an example of Christ-like virtue. He wasn't Christ. He was just a man dedicated, heart and soul, to making space in this world for a baby in a manger.

At the beginning of this year, I quietly, almost subconsciously adopted St John the Baptist as the patron saint of my NET mission. Jesus Himself said of John, "Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." (Matthew 11:11) And John was the truest example of what it means to pave the way for the Lord in peoples' hearts. I thought him a very fitting patron of the mission to ready young peoples' hearts for Christ, and so I set out with a new goal: the goal of becoming John. Not necessarily becoming a locust-eating, camel-wearing desert dweller - but becoming a moon for the Son.

The thing is, as a missionary, you can't actually do much. No, scratch that, as a missionary, you can do nothing. You personally have no light to give. You are a moon - just a mass of (cheese? what's the moon made out of?) orbiting the Earth. But what you are able to be is a reflector. You can shine the light of the Son into people's lives in a way they are able to see, a way they are able to comprehend. You are not the light, but you bear witness to the light. You alone cannot do anything to touch someone's heart or bring them into relationship with Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can do that - a fact which John was well aware of. "As for me, I baptize you with water," he said, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Luke 3:15-16). Only God can transform lives. Only God can enkindle a flame of love in the hearts of His people. Only God can be light in the darkness. But we can make a way for Him.

In humility, let us come before the Lord this Advent. Let us come before the One who is mightier than us, the One whose sandals we are not fit to undo, and ask Him how we can become John. Beg Him for the grace to become the moon - a full moon, magnificent, golden and enormous. We ourselves won't ever be the source of the light, and we shouldn't strive to be. But we can and we should strive to be the fullest reflection of the Son's light, in order that His paths may be made straight for the day when He comes in glory.

Prepare the way of the Lord!

~~~

Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment at which the Son of God was born of a most pure Virgin, at a stable, at midnight in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech thee, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through our Saviour Jesus Christ and His most blessed Mother.

AMDG

Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/John-The-Baptist#sthash.vgrtbjBE.dpuf