Malachi 3: 1-4 (New Jerusalem Bible)

Luke 3: 1-6 (Common English Bible)

The act of baptism, being immersed into the Jordan River was a powerful symbol of renewal. As John the Baptizer preaches his baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, the situation is both similar yet different. The Jewish people of John’s time are not in exile, but they are not in charge of themselves either. The thought that Yahweh was coming to liberate the Jewish people from Roman occupation was a hope they all shared.

By the time of Jesus, these stories of the prophets like Malachi, have been around for several hundred years. They were no more contemporary to the 1st century Jewish people, as Chaucer’s book “Canterbury Tales” is to us.

When the Hebrew people came out of Egypt, they went through the Reed Sea (“Red Sea”), through Jordan into the promised land. But now they were in bondage again this time by the Romans. And now they wanted a new Exodus to bring them to freedom. Yet, the way to escape bondage had to start with a return to God with their heart and soul combined with repentance.

And yet, the coming of the Messiah is foretold by John the Baptizer. He wore a hair shirt, consumed locusts and demanded baptism for the repentance of sins. There was something about his presence so compelling that crowds flocked to the desert to hear his preaching. Many followed his message and lined up to be immersed in the River Jordan. The Baptizer proclaimed a message from the prophet Isaiah. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make God’s paths straight (Isaiah 40: 3).

John’s emphasis on baptism points toward one important quality of God’s mercy and perhaps offers us a glimpse of what it will take for all people to see the salvation of God. Just as our own understanding of God’s faithfulness is rooted in grace, it is also rooted in human interdependence.

No mainstream church recognizes the validity of self-baptism. But I’ve heard of people doing that. Some reasons this has happened is because some people believe their infant baptism wasn’t valid, so they go and immerse themselve. Others think since they were baptized in the name of Jesus instead of the Trinity, this invalidates their first baptism. And there are other reasons used. But in order to make baptism a powerful affirmation of faith, a believer must be open to at least one person, who will pour the water or guide the immersion.

When we look at John the Baptizer we could say he lived on the wild side. So maybe God wants us to move beyond an existence of convenience and compliance. The domesticating character of religion can crush us into dust, trampled over by the ruling class or crams us into the miserable mold of the status-quo.  

Advent is a call to go wild for love, integrity and justice. We carefully should move our days beyond being tame, being too domesticated and too programmed. Instead we should be open to divine intervention to experience the presence of God.

The creeds of faith can often stifle creative encounters and divine embodiment. This leaves our allegiance to parchments of doctrines and burdens us with conformity. We stagger into new days with old patterns, tamed by patriarchy, domesticated with whiteness, programmed by capitalism and disciplined by heterosexism. To be wild like John the Baptizer is to be free, unsought and not controlled by the structures of power.

The movement of God finds the Baptizer in the wilderness. The image of the wilderness dominates the collective imagination of a dangerous place with wild animals. The wilderness setting exists independent of imperial power, wealth and religious hegemony. Life is possible in the wilderness as an article of faith. We can remember Jesus stayed in the wilderness for 40 days.

The people followed an unknown path with John the Baptizer to find themselves, to hear something that elevates their sense of self and God. They are away from the trapping of the society that has poisoned their thinking and contaminated their spirit. The Baptizer fills the air of the wilderness with a voice of personal and social liberation. This divine movement of life transforms the wilderness into a sanctuary.

People of faith benefit from God in sacred places, whether in a forest, a wilderness or even in a jail. Enslaved Africans in antebellum America created clearings in the forest dedicated to worship, storytelling and divine experiences beyond the reach and gaze of plantation Christianity. These places required ingenuity and the help of the Holy Spirit to assist these disinherited people with a sense of being somebody beyond a slave.

As Christmas draws near, the demands of the season make it easy to turn inward. It is difficult to think too much about collective salvation or even collective needs, when family and friends plus churches require so much of our attention. Yet in the midst of all Christmas shopping and family attention, John the Baptizer is shouting in the wilderness. He invites us to a new humanity, a new way of looking at things and a new reliance on each other. Are we ready to listen?

AMEN