Second Sunday of Advent
Mt 3:1-12
December 4, 2022

Pop singer Taylor Swift is about to go out on tour again. Even Congress has taken note. The demand for tickets has been so great that TicketMaster broke down. For some reason, with everything else going on in the world, this seems to be cause for a Congressional investigation.

Anyway…I happened to be talking with a young person (a committed “Swiftie”) fortunate enough to score a ticket before the computer crashed. I asked her: “Who is opening for Taylor Swift?” To which she replied: “I don’t really know!”

I suspect most “Swifties” would answer the same way. Who cares? What does it matter? I’m paying to see Taylor Swift! It doesn’t make any difference to me who the opening act is.

Although mentioned in the early part of all four of the Gospels, I think we tend to regard John the Baptist like an opening act. He makes a brief appearance during Advent, and then, for the most part, disappears. It’s as if he is there to make a little noise while we gather for the main attraction…JESUS! He’s Who we’re here to see!

That is a big mistake.

John the Baptist is much, much, more than an opening act. He is an integral part of the glimpse of the Mystery we call God…the glimpse that is stretched into a full view through Jesus.

Consider the staging of his appearance in today’s Gospel. We find him in the wilderness, as predicted by Isaiah…a voice crying out in the desert. Throughout Scripture, “the desert” is depicted as a sanctuary of sorts, where profound and intense spiritual experiences are to be had. Moreover, we often find that seekers leave the desert changed, which is exactly the message that John is calling out…REPENT! CHANGE! TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND!

The costuming is unusual, to say the least. Unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, who drew his wrath (You brood of vipers), John intentionally clothed himself like you might imagine an Old Testament Prophet…like a desert dweller…like a person whose authority is obvious from the message entrusted to him. He had no need of the trappings of office for which the Temple “personnel” were known. John was clothed in righteousness, which spoke louder and far more eloquently than robes and vestments.

Even his diet had great symbolic value: locusts and honey…both bitter and sweet. Being told that you have “missed the mark,” that you need to turn around and move in another direction, is a bitter pill to swallow. But, how sweet to know how easy it is…with God’s help…to correct your course.

He might well have been Crying out in the desert…but his message echoed back and attracted a crowd. How surprised they must have been to find him standing in a pool of refreshing water in the middle of such dry, arid territory. What a reminder that we can expect to find God’s healing and forgiveness in the most unexpected places.

John was definitely NOT A WARM-UP ACT for Jesus. His role was, and continues to be, critical to an understanding of Jesus…God’s Eternal Word made Flesh. He was given the duty of urging people to clear away any mistaken thoughts or impression they might have…or might have been taught…that God is anything other than total and unconditional LOVE!

When we respond to John the Baptist’s call to “turn around,” what we see is Christ waiting patiently to take center stage in our lives! And you certainly do not need a ticket to hear Jesus say I LOVE YOU!