The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

 The Collect

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Psalm
85

The Readings

Isaiah 40:1-11     +     Acts 13:14b-26     +     Luke 1:57-80

A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD,
     make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
     and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
     and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
     and all people shall see it together,

     for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

~ Isaiah 40:3-5

The fortieth chapter of Isaiah contains some of the most familiar prophetic words in scripture (thanks in part to Handel's Messiah and the season of Advent). It's a mixture of both comfort and strong medicine, tenderness and hard words--which is  pretty true of most prophets' messages. Even verses 3-5 above, which we probably associate fondly with Christmas (and indeed they are good news), literally describe massive displacement and upheaval.

John the Baptist, in my mind, is something like the quintessential prophet--the last of the great biblical prophets, directly preceding the long-promised Messiah, wild in appearance, bold in word, meeting a bloody end like so many before him. Of his nativity, St. Augustine sermonizes: "Zechariah's tongue was loosened because a voice was born. John was a 'voice', but in the beginning the Lord was the Word. John was a voice for a time: but Christ, who in the beginning was the Word, is the Word in eternity."

A voice says, “Cry out!”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are grass,
    their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
    when the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
    surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
    but the word of our God will stand for ever.

It is sometimes trendy, both within and without the church, to identify 'prophetic voices.' Certainly, there are such voices among us, and the Lord is never without messengers. But it is likely that such voices, when they cry out, will not entirely please us; will not fit easily into our narratives, but will explode our Procrustean beds; will not leave us unscathed--but also will not leave us hopeless.

See, the Lord GOD comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead the mother sheep. 

Re-read Isaiah 40:1-11. Think and pray; how does this word of the Lord speak to you today? 

Closing Prayer

Lord God of the prophets, we praise you for sending John as the Forerunner of your promised Christ. Help us to heed his voice, and the voice of everyone who cries out to point us back to you; help us to be open to your Spirit, that our voices also may proclaim the coming of the One who is our hope, even Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Icon of St. John the Baptist, the Forerunner