The voice that cries from the wilderness:

The voice that cries from the wilderness:

Advent is the time when we are reminded that we have to wait for God.  We cannot grasp God.  We cannot possess Him.  We cannot see Him.  We can only wait for Him to let Himself be known.  And when we wait for God, we confess our own incompleteness.  We acknowledge that there is more to God than what we know, and so, we place our trust and hope in Him.  Our waiting then is a prayer, testifying to our own poverty and to His greatness.

St John the Baptist is the last of the great prophets.  He is the one who marks the end of the time of waiting and the beginning of the new age in Jesus.  Notice, he preaches from the wilderness – not in the hurly burley of a life full of worldly distractions.  This is an extraordinary tribute to John’s power and charisma.  Why should crowds of people flock out to desert territory to listen to a sermon!  They are drawn to him because they obviously believe that he speaks the authentic word of the Lord, although his mission is to profess the unpalatable truth  – calling them to repentance,  to acknowledge and confess their sins, and then be baptised publically, thus indicating their sincere intention to try and change their sinful ways.

John’s call is also addressed to us today. We hear it especially during the beautiful season of Advent – that time of waiting for the coming of the Christ-Child at Christmas.  The challenge of aspiring to a radical change of heart is addressed to each of us without exception. We are probably all aware of areas in our own lives that need to be changed and to be touched by the power of God’s forgiveness.

We all need to be recalled into the fidelity of our own Baptism.   We all need to be challenged again by the Word of the Lord.   We don’t have to go into the wilderness to hear that Word.  We hear it here in this place.

Hearing it and acting on it is the best preparation for the coming of the Lord.

Perhaps we could pause here a moment and ponder whether we allot any quiet time in our busy lives to just sit and be with our God – saying nothing, just listening to what He might want to whisper to us alone. What grace and peace come from such a “wilderness” experience!  Praise the Lord!