The season of Advent is a time of waiting with great anticipation. It is also a season of preparation. Our minds become preoccupied with many tasks as we prepare. We clean our homes, unpack Christmas decorations, plan meals for the Christmas holidays, write cards and buy gifts for our loved ones. For many of us, Christmas has become more of a cultural celebration rather than a spiritual one.
Then John the Baptist interrupts our busy schedule. He insists that our to-do lists must include one more thing. John tells us that if we want to be truly prepared for Christmas and the coming of the Messiah, we must repent. He calls us to pause, reflect, and examine both ourselves and the world around us. Only then, we can fully experience the joy of Christmas and the birth of the Christ child.
Who is this person, John the Baptist? John is considered the last prophet in the Old Testament era. He is the messenger tasked with helping God’s people prepare for the coming of Jesus. From the moment when the angel of God informed Zechariah, John’s father, of his forthcoming son, John was dedicated to God. Fulfilling his special role, John spends most of his time in the wilderness, eating locusts and wild honey and wearing a garment made of camel hair. While his appearance may not have been attractive, it clearly identified him as a holy man of God. This description is reminiscent of how Elijah, a highly significant prophet in the Old Testament, was also described.
Luke portrays John as someone who deeply understood how people should prepare to welcome the Messiah, the One who was coming soon. His bold preaching in the wilderness urged people to prepare their hearts. His challenging words encouraged self-examination, essential for being ready to receive the One coming after him. His prophetic message was a clear call for people to ready themselves to receive Jesus.
John the Baptist challenged the status quo in profound ways. At the beginning of today’s passage, Luke lists seven figures who held significant political or religious power: Emperor Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Herod’s brother Philip, Lysanias, and the high priests Annas and Caiaphas. This is not just a historical backdrop but a critical theological context. Luke is making clear to his audience that, amid the oppressive powers of Roman rule, God’s presence is revealed not in the halls of power but in the wilderness with a humble man dressed in coarse garments and in a vulnerable baby in a manger.
This is how God works – then and now. God is present among the lowly, the vulnerable, and the powerless, just like us. God’s mission is carried out in and through ordinary people, like John the Baptist in the wilderness and Jesus, the Christ child, who is coming soon. By contrasting the powerful rulers with the seemingly powerless, Luke emphasizes God’s love, mercy and grace for all. God’s power is found not in grandeur but in the lives of everyday people – like you and me.
In every Advent season, we hear John the Baptist’s cry, calling us to repentance. The true meaning of repentance is to change. Yet, it is not a word we easily embrace. Perhaps this is because it conjures uncomfortable images – like preachers shouting Eternal Flame through megaphones on the street or because it demands that we confront sinful behaviours, stop them, and replace them with something new and better.
It may sound simple in some sense, but in reality, it is the opposite. It is very hard. Most of us resist change. Instead of changing our actions, we might say, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I feel really, really awful about what I have done,” and stop there. As Barbara Brown Taylor puts it, “We prefer remorse to repentance.”
But repentance is not entirely up to us. It begins with longing and desire, guided by God’s grace. When we pay attention to our relationship with God and our neighbours, listening to the still, small voice within, and acting accordingly, we gradually experience liberation. The burdens of guilt and inner turmoil lift, making room for the peace of Christ to dwell within us. True peace begins when we reconcile with God, which is central to John’s message. By “making straight paths,” we align our lives with God’s peace and love.
What does repentance look like? How will we know when it has taken root?
A renowned preacher said that repentance becomes evident when we revisit our memories and discern, with fresh eyes, the hand of God where we had not noticed before. We see new signs of God’s grace, feel more gratitude for God’s presence, and are moved to live a more faithful and obedient tomorrow because of what we’ve discerned.
In this way, repentance arises from the intersection of our desire, our attention, and God’s grace. It’s the discovery of something new, even in familiar gospel stories and hymns we’ve heard over and over again. Whenever we see that all that God has done in our seemingly ordinary yesterdays points us anew to Christ – who forgives our wrongdoings and enables a tomorrow filled with faith and joy – we have truly repented.
This transformation isn’t only personal; it must also occur at communal, national, and global levels. For instance, in South Korea last week, President Yoon apologized for imposing martial law, a decision believed to stem from personal desires and supported by extreme right-wing factions. Facing potential impeachment, he offered an apology. But was it true repentance? I doubt it.
John the Baptist’s ultimate mission is to prepare the way for Jesus, the Prince of Peace. When we do the same, we, too, will see the salvation of God. John’s cry reminds us that even the wilderness – desolate and barren – is part of God’s creation and concern. God stands over every corner of the world, intimately involved in our lives, renewing us with hope and the expectation that we will be transformed.
John’s message assures us that God is at work, levelling valleys, flattening mountains, straightening crooked paths, and smoothing rough places. God’s mission is the restoration and salvation of all humankind. This passage comforts us in our struggles and reminds us of God’s transformative love. Thanks be to God, who first loved us, brought us the Good News, and restored us to life. Amen.