One of, if not the central figure of our Advent journey is John the Baptist. John is fundamental to our Advent journey because he, like the season of Advent, is calling us to repentance and to make room for the coming of the Savior into our lives. John is a preacher and a thorn in the side of not only the religious leaders of his day but the civic leadership. John is a “Holy Troublemaker” and speaks truth to power and tells it like it is.
There is much we can learn from the life of John the Baptist. John’s role was to point the way to Jesus and to remind people of their need for repentance and that God loves them. John’s entire mission was to prepare the way, to get things ready for the one who was coming after him.
But John is more than this; John is the one who paved the way for Jesus. John is the one who announced that the time had come and that the long-awaited Messiah was here. John pointed to Jesus and showed him to his followers and even encouraged them to follow Jesus rather than John. John has left us an example to follow that of being the ones who bring the message of Jesus Christ into the world.
What the world needs now is more John the Baptists, and we can be those people for the world.
