Year C December 6

Year C Advent 2

Luke 3:1-6

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:' Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight...and all flesh shall see the salvation of the God.' (v4b,6 NRSV)

The responsive reading for this day is Luke 1:68-79. It is the prayer/prophecy of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer.

His prophecy over his son was about the specifics of his son's life, but the scope of his life work - go before the Lord to prepare his ways, give knowledge of salvation by forgiveness of sins, give light to those in darkness and guide people in the way of peace.

As we the story of the adult Jesus begins it is located at a time (v1) and in a place (v2). And it is John who kick starts the actions. He prepares the way. It is John who walks on to the stage and grabs people attention with his introduction. It is his words and his actions that are used to disturb the status quo, to unsettle and disturb the comfortable, and to raise expectations for the present and the future.

John's lifestyle was radical enough to draw attention to his message.
John's voice was loud enough and strong enough to compel people to listen.

As I prepared for a dedication on this Sunday it was clear to me that Zechariah's prophecy for his son could well be the message of God for our generation. We are to prepare people to hear the message of the Lord, give knowledge of salvation by forgiveness of sins, give light to those in darkness and guide people in the way of peace.

And this we must do by our lifestyle and our words.

Other readings:
Malachi 3:1-4;
Luke 1:68-79;
Philippians 1:3-11