John the baptist was Jesus’ cousin. Do you have cousins? I remember seeing the facebook meme saying “Cousins are our first friends” – boy was that not true for me at all. My family were very mobile with my father’s job with an oil company, and I saw my cousins pretty seldom. I enjoyed them, don’t get me wrong, but I barely knew them. Which is a loss, as I look back on it.
Were Jesus and John the baptist friends? They were only a few months apart in age, but Jesus grew up in Nazareth and John grew up probably in a “judean town in the hill country” according to Luke, since that’s where his parents lived. And, remember, John’s family dedicated him to God, and he eventually “The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel”. So my guess is, even though they were cousins, John and Jesus weren’t close. Like me and my cousins.
Jesus grew up with Mary and Joseph, his parents, who both knew Jesus was from God. They had been told. So, I wonder what his childhood and adolesence were like? And John was in the wilderness, remember? Life in the wilderness must have been austere – pared down to the essentials. Just talking with God, or maybe mostly listening.
And he emerges from the wilderness to preach a baptism of repentence, calling all those who have ears to hear to change their ways. And they do. That wilderness experience. People listen to John. Maybe because his words, his actions, his bearing show that he and God have been together. That he has been listening to God, for years. I think we would be moved by being in the presence of such a person.
What have been your wilderness experiences? Austere, set apart, a place of intense learning, and maybe deprivation, too. Did you emerge from them with purpose?
Why do you think we learn about wilderness moments in church during the four weeks leading to Christmas eve? Surely to help put Jesus and his message in context. But, maybe, also, to remind us of our own wilderness experiences – the deep moments of our lives that put things in context, in perspective. The wilderness moments can define our lives and allow us to recognize greatness. The greatness of a king, come to save us.
This Advent, I pray you experience wilderness in a new way, and that it draws you near to Christ in a way that puts light and darkness into new perspective.
Blessings – Pastor Patricia+
