“Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:4-6)
The gospel reading about the ministry of John the Baptist reminds us that Advent is not meant to focus solely on the birth of a baby who is the Son of God. We aren’t just getting ready for that baby to be born in Bethlehem. John himself would probably be offended by many of the preparations we make as we prepare to celebrate Christmas for these contradict the simplicity of his clothing and his humble, ascetic lifestyle. John’s lifestyle proclaimed that he had turned his back on the world and its enticements and was prepared for the Messiah. His mission was to preach the comforting news of the Messiah’s appearance. He was to prepare Israel, indeed all people, to repent of sin and receive Him.
Of course we do celebrate the birth of Jesus appropriately with great joy for His coming brought salvation to all of us. His coming brought restoration of our fellowship with God through Christ Jesus based solely on the gift of faith and not our achievements or good deeds. That is certainly good news for rejoicing at Advent, but the season is also a time for sober and sincere self-reflection, a time for repentance. It is a time for us to remember that, following our Lord’s command, we are to prepare for His Second Coming. For the faithful, this will be a time of great joy for they will finally and fully be relieved of their sins. For those who do not have faith in Jesus, this will be a time filled with fear and despair for when He comes back again there will be judgment as the goats are separated from the sheep.
John the Baptist reminds us that Advent is the time to look at our lives, to repent of sin, to forsake living for self and turn one’s heart to God to serve Him alone, a hard thing to do in the midst of a world that bombards us at this holy season with the lust for material goods, gluttony, and overindulgence. Yet we can turn from such with the help of the Lord. With our focus on Jesus we can live according to God’s will. And we can present to Gospel of faith in Christ Jesus to all those we meet so that the Second Coming will be a time of joy for them as it is for us.