Mark 1:1-8 

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ.

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,’ ”

so John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the whole Judean region 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 strap of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

BACKGROUNDER

Continuing our series, “Prepare your hearts for Christmas”, this week we take a look at what it means to “Prepare the way”. This message was first delivered by the prophet Isaiah to his people, Israel, when they were down, defeated, and in exile. Everything they prized, the temple, the holy city, Jerusalem, the promised land, their home, had been conquered by the Babylonian empire. They themselves were taken away, no more to see these beloved gifts from God. And yet, Isaiah prophesies the marvelous return of God’s favour for his people. Though they are in a kind of wilderness, dispossessed, it is just there, in a place of despair, that a new hope will be born.
John the Baptist, centuries later, addresses the descendants of the chosen people, who are again in despair. Though they made it back home, and rebuilt everything, they were conquered again, and were now under the iron rule of the Romans. John goes out to the wilderness to relive the wanderings of his ancestors, lost for years in the desert, or exiled – because it is in the wilderness that God turns things around.
Today we are also addressed by the prophetic words, “Prepare the way”. Our world is also full of despair, born of violence and oppression. Too many people are hungry and thirsty for food, and even more, for meaning and purpose. We have lost our way. This is our wilderness.
Preparing our hearts for Christmas means that we hear a message of hope when it seems that there is no room for hope. But the hope is not just for us to hold on to, it needs to be shared to be fulfilled. God is coming to us once again. But now our hope is founded on the one whom John foretold.
John shows us that we must be humble messengers, not possessive of what God offers, but willing to risk everything so that the world may be made ready. Jesus came as John prophesied. By doing the Father’s will, even to dying on the cross, Jesus blessed us with the Holy Spirit. The offer of the Spirit transforms each human heart into a dwelling place fit for a king. And when Jesus reigns in our hearts, his Spirit leads us outward into mission, where we too can announce, “Prepare the way!”