We
take water for granted. Israel is
a lot drier than Ireland. In fact
the real dispute in between Israelis and the Palestinians is not so much over
land but over access to and control of water. All over Israel, wherever they dig, archaeologists find different
types of ancient water stores.
There are cisterns for drinking water and baths for washing and there is
a third kind. That kind is not for
drinking from for the water was often stagnant. For the same reason one did not swim in them though there are
steps down into them. The capacity
of some of the smaller kind was over 14,000 litres of water. These tanks or baths were used for the ritual
cleansing demanded by the Jewish religion of the time. They were always cut from the rock and
were covered so that they were dark and cold. They are so common that it is obvious that the Jews of the
time of our Lord took religious purity very seriously. So why then do they flock to be
baptized by John in the Jordan?
John
is something of a paradox. The
Jewish Temple priesthood was hereditary and John is from a priestly
family. He is a descendant of Aaron, the brother of Moses, first of
the Jewish priests. (If you
have Cohens or Levis in your family tree you too are such a descendant). Yet he is not living a priestly life. He does not take his
turn in the Temple but lives in the wilderness, the hot, rocky emptiness beyond
the Jordan. He lives on wild honey
and insects, food allowed by the Jewish Law, but not easy to get nor very
filling. He must've been very thin
and wiry, sun-browned and wild-looking.
He wears a rough camel hair garment, his hair of his head and his face
is uncut. What an extraordinary
sight he must've made. In
addition, Israel, the Jews, have not seen or heard of a prophet in about five
hundred years. All that time God
has been silent. Then John appears
from the wilderness dressed as a prophet like Elijah, living an austere life
and proclaiming the need for repentance, for straitening the route for God's
grace into our lives and administering baptism to that end.
John's
baptism was symbolic, a sign of desire for real purity. By baptizing in a river rather than a
pool or tank he is pointing to the living power that is come with Christ, a
power that is not stagnant like human power.
John
is the last of the prophets of the Old Testament and a saint of the New
Testament. His clothing is that of a prophet and
his message is that we repent, that is, we literally change our mind, our way
of thinking and return to the Lord's way. By refusing to
be a priest of the Temple John is pointing forward to the new priesthood
established by Christ and the new sacrifice He will make that is the Mass. John speaks of himself as a slave so
low that it is not proper for him even to touch the least part of Christ's
sandal. John, like all the saints,
points beyond himself to Jesus Who is the fulfillment of all God's promises and
more.
As
Tertullian, an early Christian wrote: John calls us to purge our minds of
whatever impurity error has imparted, whatever contamination ignorance has
brought, which repentance would sweep and scour away, and cast out. So prepare the home of your heart by
making it clean for the Holy Spirit.
As
St Gregory Nazianzus wrote: "Moses
baptized, but in water, in the cloud and in the sea; but this he did
figuratively. John also baptized, not indeed in the rite of the Jews, not
solely in water, but also for the remission of sins; yet not in an entirely
spiritual manner, for he had not added: “in the Spirit.” Jesus baptized, but in
the Spirit; and this is perfection. There is also a fourth baptism, which is
wrought by martyrdom and blood, in which Christ himself was also baptized,
which is far more venerable than the others, in as much as it is not soiled by
repeated contagion. There is yet a fifth, but more laborious, (a baptism) by
tears; with which David each night bedewed his bed, washing his couch with
tears".
How
many times have we looked forward to Christmas and something has gone
wrong. How often have
disagreements marred our celebrations?
How often have we eaten or drunk too much? How often has it just been a bit of a disappointment? For some of us Christmas is a reminder
of bad and painful times. For many
it is a reminder of loved ones who have died. To get the real meaning of Christmas it is necessary not to
stock up on food and drink but to stock up on grace. It is necessary to approach the Birth of Christ by the royal
road of Advent. That is why the
priest wears purple, the ancient colour of royalty.
To
live Advent we need to join John in the wilderness. I don't mean eating insects by the way though I would not
object to honey. John is a model
for us. The wilderness represents
the stripped down space of prayer and quiet. We need to remove the non-necessities. We have to make space for God. In John we see and hear the call to
reduce our dependence on the things of this world to the minimum so that we
have more time for God and our neighbour.
John's path is one of penance and repentance.
We
are to acknowledge our sins and seek out Christ in Confession, repenting of
them and asking His mercy. We are
to make sacrifices, however small, and unite them with Christ's infinite
sacrifice in the Mass. By these
simple means we can open our hearts to really greet Christ at Christmas, to run
out to meet Him with the good works we have done, to greet Him with joyful
faith not shallow sentimentality and to find that in seeking Him we have found
the power to love those around us and discovered the real meaning of Christmas.
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