Reflection From Father John
December 8, 2024
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We hear St. Luke quoting the prophet Isaiah in the Gospel this week, “A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” (Luke 3:4) All four Gospels mention Isaiah 40:3 in order to explain the reason behind the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness.
The importance of John the Baptist is seen in the way he linked the Old and the New Testaments. He lived during the period of transition from the time of Israel to the time of Christ. He exhorted the Jewish people to live upright and holy lives in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
St. Luke presents John as one called by God who will prepare for the coming period of salvation. He is presented as a preacher who makes “ready the way of the Lord.” Due to his strong preaching and exhortation to live a holy life, the Jewish people held John the Baptist in high regard. Many Jewish people at the time believed that Herod Antipas, the son of King Herod the Great who had John the Baptist executed, was punished by God for his wrongdoing when his army was destroyed, and he was killed.
John the Baptist is highly regarded, not only because he fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3, but because he proclaimed a Baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. John the Baptist proclaimed the fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah in a new and profound way. No longer were the words of Isaiah fulfilled only through study and strict observance of the Law. The fulfillment of the Old Testament and the words of the prophets found their truest fulfillment in the coming period of salvation through a baptism for the forgiveness of sins. St. Luke quotes Isaiah in the passage, “The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3:5-6) Through the preaching of John the Baptist and the coming of Christ, the winding roads and rough ways which Isaiah mentions find their truest meaning in our own sinfulness.
Today, we share in that baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins that John the Baptist preached through our Baptism. Through Baptism we are made sharers in the period of salvation which John the Baptist foretold. We have been washed clean and participate in the very divine life of God. Despite having been washed clean in the waters of baptism, we find ourselves struggling with many different mountains and valleys in the form of our own sinfulness. Thankfully , through the Sacrament of Confession, we are forgiven of any sins committed since our Baptism and restored to our original state after our Baptism.
This Advent season, what are those winding roads and valleys that the Lord desires to make straight in our lives? What are the valleys and mountains the Lord desires to move within our hearts that impede us from being in His presence? Let us avail ourselves this Advent of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and allow the Holy Spirit to fill in those valleys and move those mountains within our hearts, making straight the way of the Lord, so that we can receive Christ this Christmas with a renewed spirit of Hope and Joy.