Meeting the Light in John the Baptist

Matthew 3:1-12

Advent 2, December 7, 2025

Holy Trinity Cathedral

“Meeting the Light in John the Baptist”

Each of us needs someone like John the Baptist in our lives. Whether we like it or not! A friend or a colleague, or even a complete stranger, who is willing to confront me with the truth.  Someone who is wise enough to see the cracks in my life and cares enough to shine a light down into the dark places.  Think on a spiritual director or therapist naming the issue I would rather avoid.  Or the doctor confirming a diagnosis I don’t want to face.  A loved one who notices the habit that has been taking me away from healthy body and mind. That’s not a comfortable experience.  But that discomforting person can bring me to change.  To turn my life completely around- which is what the Greek word for “repent” means.

There may be many people telling you what is wrong with you.  Not all those voices are trustworthy.  Amongst them, who has authenticity and experience? Who is someone the light shines through already?  That’s the person who you can listen to even when difficult things are being spoken.

John the Baptist comes into the scripture story out of the wilderness.  That dry and lonely desert around Judea already represents the place where people encounter their true selves.  God speaks and shows Godself in the wilderness: in the exile from paradise, in the encounter of Moses at the burning bush, in the people of Israel wandering for forty years.  Hermits and prophets went into the wilderness to ask hard questions and face down their fears.  And they were changed as they learned to rely on God and seek the way of righteousness. 

In Matthew’s gospel, we don’t get the back story on why John went into the wilderness in the first place.  There may have been years of preparation.  From Luke’s narrative we learn he is the firstborn son of devout Jews, a surprise child in their later years.  From other sources, scholars think he may have been part of a monastic community at Qumran, where he was schooled in the prophecies that foretold of the Messiah.  We meet him as he steps into public ministry with his proclamation, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come.”  Whatever has happened to him in the silence and deprivation of the Judean desert, it has shaped him.  Even the clothes on his back and his diet speak of his reliance not on human industry, but on his Creator’s gifts. 

God has met John in the wilderness.  It has changed him into a messenger whose task is to point towards one who is coming with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  He sees himself as the one that Isaiah foretold: “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight”.  He doesn’t see himself as the Light, but as one who points towards it.  But those who hear him believe and respond because they see the light in John, shining through his being and his words and actions. He practices what he preaches, for God has turned him around to face the light.

Now John’s work is to challenge others in love to do the same. It’s not enough to be Jewish, he warns.  The prestige and position of being a teacher or lawyer or priest won’t save you.  Even if you are curious enough to show up and listen to the good news, the proof that you have turned to God’s way will be by your actions.  His baptism of repentance is not a “get clean quick” scheme to set you right with God.  It is to mark the beginning of a journey for each person towards the coming light. 

In John’s proclamation there is love and judgment.  Those who live in God’s love don’t have to fear the judgement.  The deeper indwelling of the Holy Spirit with wind and fire will bear much fruit.  And all that is not right will be burned away and cleansed.  Often it is frightening to consider changes to our lives because of what we might lose.  So we cling to old practices, familiar surroundings, unhealthy ways.  We may be tempted to hide from the truth like the vipers that flee away when their nest is disturbed.  But what if the Holy Spirit is bringing about a cleaning and clearing?

John the Baptist underwent an experience in the wilderness that revealed to him the power of the coming Light.  He allowed God to reshape and return him to his people as a prophet. His words were uncomfortable for those in religious authority because he pointed out how they could not rely on their heritage or good works to be right with God.  God will judge hearts and responses in this call to repent.

Who in your life is bringing an uncomfortable truth to light?  What are you going to do in response?  John’s proclamation reminds us that Christmas is not just about the coming of Jesus as a child in the manger, but as the One who comes to judge us with the Holy Spirit and fire.  God’s love shines with the power to turn our lives around. Amen.