Who was John the Baptist? Of all the people in the Bible, I must admit that I really find him strangely weird. He dressed in clothes that were never washed, ate all kinds of bugs and plants, many people called him a “wild man, even crazy,” and was the man chosen by God to proclaim the coming of a Savior to the world. At his extremely violent death, decapitation, he said that he could not begin to fill Christ’s shoes, but he loudly proclaimed the coming of the King.
There’s a Voice in the Wilderness
John was the voice in the wilderness who spoke of paths never walked on.
He shouted, “Prepare a road for our God!”
Exalted valleys and high hills crumbled at his voice.
All the crooked paths were made straight where God might go.
Sing praises on the highest hills, O Jerusalem.
A king is coming for the poor people.
We perish like flowers of the field, and like the grass, our works decay.
The power and prestige of nations will pass away like a dream.
Our Savior’s Word is faithful, and our God’s strength is beyond the world’s.
God stands amid all nations and rights what is wrong.
Lord, feed your sheep and gently hold your lambs.
The pastures will be peaceful and all will come before the Lord.
As we have heard from the current news, the desert land of Israel and Palestine is not at peace, and the thundering noise and destruction of man’s military power is destroying all who seek to gently care for the men, women, and children caught in the crossfire. I pray that God will right the terrible wrongs committed by these two nations. Like the lilies of the field, many will perish, and man’s works will become rubble.
It is a horrendous shame that the people cannot hear the voice of John the Baptist, because he is proclaiming the coming of a tiny boy born in a stable in Bethlehem. The missile warheads they see crossing the skies are not the Star leading the Wise Men to the birthplace of Christ. Thousands have fled south over hills made into craters created by man’s hatred, in search of peace, hope, and love, but even those thousands are dying. The United States considers itself to be the protector of the free world, the Shepherd who gently protects the world’s children, but it is defying its own values as it sends more arms to Israel to continue the war and by voting against the United Nations resolution for a peaceful end to the war. John the Baptist was not crying out for more war; he was crying out for the world to prepare the way for Christ, the King, the Shepherd who will search for even the smallest lamb stuck in a briar patch.
Maybe John’s violent death really was a warning of the violence, hatred, and anger that men can do to one another, but I pray that is not the case. I pray that as we sing our praises to our Lord and Savior, we will find the peace this world really needs in this season of, “Peace, goodwill towards men.” We will find the hope, love, and grace that God wants His children to have. In the words of protestors around the world, “Stop All Wars! and Give Peace a Chance!”
(Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2006, Page 255.)
Anna Hartt
