For December 7, 2014

Mark 1:1-8

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

"As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John [the] Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

What was the way John the Baptist prepared? It is neither the national road nor the street to your house that needs to be prepared and cleaned, it is the way to your heart, cleanse your self as well as your conscience from temptation, greed or envy. For Judean people, God has made John the Baptist, an instrument to remind them before the coming of Christ to repent on their sins through Baptism (as Catholics, we have our baptism when we were only in our infant years). In this gospel, John the Baptist like our priests of today baptized us with water and in the coming of Christ, He will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that we received from Him, would lead us to changes and straighten our wrongdoings. This will guide us as well  in leading a genuine lifestyle. One more thing worth noticing from this gosphel was humility which John the Baptist has shown as an important messenger to prepare the way. Like what D. De Haan stated, " God often uses lowly things, His purpose to fulfill, because it takes a humble heart to carry out His will."

So as a modern John the Baptist, how are you going to humbly pave the way for the coming of Christ our Savior?

We can start by changing our self first, then our family and our community. It is always advisable to start with the smallest unit to largest in order for our purpose to have effective foundation. As a member of a bible study group, this is also a good way of straightening the way for the coming of Christ. The group has the initiative to gather members of the community every Tuesday to reflect about the gosphel. It has not only open new understanding of the bible but also strengthen our personal bond to other people.

There are various ways of sharing the gospel, one of the members of the bible study group said, "if John the Baptist would be living this day, he would definitely own a cellphone"- in order to reach a lot of people and give reminders of His coming by repenting for our sins and accept our shortcomings.

So nowadays, there are various innovative ways of sharing the good news, humble yourself and commit to what you are doing.

Our Savior will be coming

This is what John has been saying

Praying and always repenting

For the Holy Spirit is worth having

Prepare the way

Be John the Baptist starting today

Remind others if you may

That we are not here just to play