John the Wild Man
John the Baptist must have been quite a character! He looked like some wild-eyed, half crazy mountain man. Not someone you would look at and think “This is someone I could learn something from.” We’ll read about his preaching in the wilderness from Matthew on Sunday (click here).
Yet, in spite of his appearance, his message was so compelling that people flocked into the wilderness to hear him, and even to be baptized by him. His reputation grew to the point that leaders in the Jewish community went to check him out and some were even persuaded by him.
And what was that message that struck such a chord? The Lord is coming! Repent and be baptized!
We are accustomed to talk of repentance in the church. We take it as part and parcel of the religious life, especially for Christians. In John’s day, not so much. Forgiveness was accomplished through various rites. John’s emphasis on actual change of behavior was refreshing and compelling. Apparently, it rang true for them in a way that left the typical synagogue exhortations hollow and limp.
I participate in a breakfast Bible study with a group of clergy and we were discussing this passage. Some emphasized that we are saved (made right with God) by Jesus’ declaration that we are so. Others emphasized, based on this text and others, that we must choose to behave differently – to repent. After all, that is what John was calling for.
In the end, we concluded that the two cannot be separated. We make different choices because God is at work in our lives and it is those new choices that open us to God’s work in our lives! Ultimately, we cannot separate them.
Yet, it is clear that we must choose if we want to experience the benefits. And it is not a ‘once and done’ choice. It is a life of daily choosing Jesus.
Where do you need to choose today?
This column appeared in the December 4, 2022 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
