Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8.
Dear Friends, There are no throw-away lines in the Gospels. They all are loaded with special depth and power. So when Mark refers to Isaiah in introducing John the Baptist, it is of great importance. It is not as if the reference is setting up the arrival of John. On the contrary, John’s arrival is announcing the long awaited promises of Isaiah.More than any other book of the Old Testament, Isaiah is filled with the message of hope and deliverance, filled with the pregnant hope of new life and a new day in the coming of the Messiah.
Here are just a few verses of this explosive proclamation of the new day to come:
“Go onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings…say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God. (Isaiah 40:9)
In Isaiah 25 we read:
“But he shall judge the poor with justice…Then the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together…the baby shall play in the cobra’s den; There shall be no harm or ruin on my holy mountain. (Isaiah 11:4-9)
One final example of this incredible message of hope for a new day:
“He will destroy on the mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples…he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces...This is the Lord for whom we have waited. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:7-9)
So when John began preaching a baptism of repentance, it was to a people not that much different from us today. It was to a people longing for deliverance from inequality and oppression, a people caught in the many subtle and open expressions of violence and attacks on human dignity, a people longing for healing and peace, a people longing for delivery from the pandemic.
When John said, “One mightier than I is coming after me” (Mark 1:7), the Baptist was unfolding the hope- filled conclusion of the entire Old Testament. God’s promise to Abraham, repeated over and over again, was approaching fulfillment. The consequences of sin will be wiped away in the arrival of the Savior. Sickness, ignorance, prejudice and violence will give way to health, truth, justice and peace. Death will lose its sting and eternal life will be our destiny. In all things, love will prevail. Indeed, we need to open our hearts to the hope filled message of Advent. We need to free our hearts of fear and weariness to cry out in hope, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Above all, we are called to long for this hope of transformation that begins now when we accept the plea of the Baptist to repent and are open to the plea of Jesus to love!
In Christ,
Fr. Tracy
