Crying Out in the Wilderness

Luke 3:1-6
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"


John, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, has come into the fullness of his ministry as God’s herald messenger. His is the voice “crying out in the wilderness” and calling us to prepare for the advent of salvation. This is a clear reference to the prophecy found in Isaiah 40, which foretells the restoration of the exiled people of Israel.
Isaiah’s message proclaims, “In the wilderness prepare the highway of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3). In our four gospels, John is the figure in the wilderness laying down the pavement. John called the people to repent, to turn hearts and minds and souls toward the God who attends to the salvation of the world.
For Isaiah, the barren wilderness was the obstacle between exile and home; the highway a symbol of restoration. For John, human sin was the obstacle between exile and home, and he called people to pave God’s way in their innermost being.
Our landscape isn’t the dry and barren wilderness of Judea, but John still cries out to us during this season of Advent. Repent. Prepare the way; for the time is here when we too will see the salvation of God. Calling out into our modern wilderness of bright lights and holiday shoppers, he brings us to a manger and then to a cross.
The voice crying out in the wilderness calls us to the true hope of restoration found in Jesus Christ; to the one who is the incredible gift of this incredible season.

Prayer:
Faithful God, you sent your messengers to call me back from exile. You sent your Son to restore me to life. Send your Spirit to work in my innermost being so that I may receive this gift with gratitude and live for your sake. Amen.

Martha Langford, Associate Pastor for Congregational Care