In today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark (1:1-8), we have clearly heard that the prophet Isaiah had declared many years earlier that there would be a messenger sent ahead of the coming Lord. The task of this messenger was to warn all of us that we are to prepare ourselves for the day of the coming of the Lord. Indeed, John the Baptizer was and continues to be this messenger. John himself was a deeply faithful man of God, but he understood that the real function of his calling was to point the way to the true Son of God; to the true presence of God among us.
John had become somewhat famous as a servant of God, and most often referred to as “John the Baptist.” He preacher to anyone who would be willing to listen, that we are only the creation of God and not the true masters of all that we may see. John’s message was that we should return to a life of obedience to God, and that the laws of our faith in God are still viable in today’s world. Those who came to listen to him and then decided to dedicate their lives to obeying God were symbolically washed clean of their past sins by being baptized.
John’s fame had become so great and wide spread that many of those who came to see him began to believe that he was the Messiah that they and their ancestors had been promised. Now not many of the people alive today, who believe in the promised coming of the Lord, are willing to claim that the Lord has arrived and that they can show him to you and others. And at this point in the Gospel of Mark, John is clearly “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”[1]
John makes clear in his teachings that all he can do for those who have come to him is to help them cleanse themselves of their past sins, and guide them back on to a path headed in the direction of becoming closer to God. In our present world we need to take care, for there are many individuals who would claim to be able to help us to find greater wealth and true happiness. However, the reality has been that these individuals have all too often have only been interested in taking control of what little wealth we may have so that they could find their own personal happiness.
John did not want to live a life of great comfort and fame. In fact, he told all who would willingly listen to him, that another was coming; One who was truly greater than John himself. In fact John told everyone that, “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”[2] John was making it clear to everyone who would listen to him that he was not the promised Messiah – the savior of the world. That job was for someone else. That job would be assigned by the one who had promised that a Savior would be sent into this world.
Do you remember what powerful words of comfort the author of Isaiah (40:1-11) wrote in this morning’s reading? The words which stand out the strongest for me where these: “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.”[3] It is God who has promised that all who would follow the will of God would be rewarded with eternal life in the House of the Lord. And so the choice is ours to make: will we follow the teaching of this world, or will we believe in the promises of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?
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