A clatter of feet on the steps, hands open, darting eyes scanning the room – and then the question repeated several times a day in a family of seven living under one roof in a duplex villa. Where is Claire? Baby Claire is the latest addition to our family, born to our daughter. Nothing unifies a family like a newborn in the home. The same is repeated over meals when the family is chattering away, and then the quiet sound of a baby stirring from her sleep – and then – when unheeded, it could be a wartime siren emanating – all from a pair of tiny lungs.
The chatter comes to an abrupt halt; there is complete
silence. The fittest and the fastest around the table are off the block to get
to the baby first, to hold her for just a bit, before handing over the baton –
literally so – not to win a race – but for that delight of a cherubic smile – a
baby in complete wonderment at the utter gibberish being hurled at her - adults
– unschooled in baby talk but trying nevertheless.
It would be facetious to say the silence we are about to
speak of was anything in comparison. But, like the baby, it did create a stir.
The baby was John the Baptist, who stirred in Elizabeth's
womb when her cousin Mary entered the door of her house after an arduous
journey over hills and valleys carrying Jesus in her womb. Mary travelled about
100 miles from Nazareth to visit her cousin Elizabeth in the hill country. 39 At
that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of
Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and
greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s
greeting, the baby leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit. (Lk 1:39-41)
The Gospel of Luke (1:45) states she went “with haste,”
showing her urgency. This journey signifies Mary’s commitment and underscores
the importance of their familial bond during this significant period. (As ours
with Baby Claire). Also of significance: John the Baptist was the last Prophet
to call the people of Israel to repentance. He was killed for speaking truth to
power. To Herod Antipas, who married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,
when he was still alive; this was clearly a sinful act.
Herod imprisoned John the Baptist because Herodias wanted
it, and possibly because Herod wanted to have a private audience with John
whenever he desired. While ‘perplexed’ by what John had to say, Herod was all
ears when John did speak. Herodias hated John for intruding on their marital
alliance, and exploited Salome, her daughter, to snag the head of John the
Baptist. A reckless promise, a cruel request, and an unshaken faith brought John’s
mission to a dramatic end.
The book of Malachi is the last of the written word in the
Old Testament before we get to the letters and Gospels of the New Testament.
Malachi sums up the themes of the Old Testament, brings correction and
challenge, and God gives His people hope for reconciliation, restoration, and a
future.
4 “Remember the law of my
servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 “See,
I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day
of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the
hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to
their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total
destruction.” (Malachi 4:4-6)
John the Baptist burst on the scene after 400 years during
which time God had gone silent. John came to awaken Israel from spiritual sleep
and prepare the people to recognise the long-awaited Messiah.
One thought that has always stayed with me … until now … was
the absence of communication between John the Baptist and his cousin Jesus.
John speaks of his cousin Jesus as a stranger. Cousins who never met after
their ‘stirring’ encounter in their mother’s wombs.
Then I heard a bit of John's growing years, and I figured
that answers the question of why there was zero contact between John and Jesus
until Jesus showed up for His baptism, creating an awkward moment for John. John
felt he was the sinner baptising the sinless. As John grew older, he had embraced
a life of prayer, simplicity, and self-denial. He withdrew into the wilderness
where silence stripped away distraction and taught him to depend completely
upon God. His rough clothing and simple food reflected a heart detached from
comfort. In that lonely landscape, far from palaces and crowded streets, God
was forming a prophet whose voice would soon shake consciences throughout
Israel.
When the proper time came, John stepped out of the
wilderness with a message that was simple, urgent, and impossible to ignore.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven was near. He called people to turn away from
sin and return sincerely to God. His words could be severe, yet they carried
hope. John was not condemning people to despair. He was calling them to begin
again before the Lord.
Crowds soon gathered along the Jordan River. Men and women
came from different regions, confessing their sins and receiving from John a
baptism of repentance. His preaching touched something deep within them because
they recognised the voice of a true prophet. Yet John never presented his
baptism as the final answer. It was a preparation, an outward sign that people
were ready to change and welcome the one soon to come.
As John's influence grew, some wondered whether he himself
might be the promised Messiah. He rejected the suggestion immediately. John
understood both the greatness and the limits of his calling. He was the
servant, not the Saviour. He openly announced that someone far greater was
coming after him, one before whom he considered himself unworthy.
John refused to let admiration distract him from the one he
had been sent to proclaim. Everything in John's life served one purpose,
preparing the way of the Lord. His preaching, baptism, life in the wilderness,
and call to repentance all pointed beyond himself. He did not seek to create a
movement centred on his personality. He wanted Israel to awaken, purify its
heart, and be ready when God's promised one finally appeared among his people.
That mission gave unity to John's entire life. Whether alone in the desert,
surrounded by crowds at the Jordan, or later standing before powerful rulers,
he remained a witness to the truth. John lived so that others might recognise
Christ. Such fidelity would eventually lead him into suffering, imprisonment,
and death. Yet from beginning to end, the faithful forerunner never abandoned
the mission God had placed in his hands.
John the Baptist is calling us to repentance through those
who have made Jesus their principal reason for existence. They are pointing us
to Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection. Are we Herod Antipas of our times –
doing our own thing – full of hubris and pride – and sinful indulgences? Who
are the Herodias and Salome in our lives that are leading us to eternal
perdition?
When the family looks at baby Claire, they see innocence.
Innocence that we have lost growing up. But God has not given up on us. He is
quietly, silently waiting.
-
Mathew Anthony
