None of them welcomed Jesus; some were implicated in his death. Yet it was precisely into this unwelcoming world that God sent John the Baptist to inaugurate an age of mercy and salvation. God saves his people, despite their perversity and hardness of heart. God has the last word, not man. John’s mission was to prepare the way of the Lord by ‘preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.’ John was a bridge who brought people to Jesus and his kingdom. He demanded from them both repentance and a renewal of their lives. He prepared their hearts to receive Jesus and his gospel.
The main emphasis of John’s preaching – repentance, change and renewal – remain the way to Jesus and his kingdom. His message invites us, as individuals, to take on the same spirit of repentance, change and renewal: ‘Man is the first agent of all social and historical change, but to be able to carry out this role he himself must be renewed in Christ, in the Holy Spirit. This is a direction that holds great promise for the future of the Church. (St. Pope John Paul II).
The message of repentance and renewal always speaks powerfully to the human heart, for it offers the possibility of forgiveness and a release from the burden, as well as the promise of healing, change and a new start. Into our world of sin, failure and broken promises, the Lord’s word still comes with conviction and power, as it did in the time of John the Baptist, to set us free and save us.
The Gospel of mercy invites us into a new time of grace. During Advent God’s word challenges us to repent and be renewed: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight…The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth’. As we respond with sincerity, we shall ‘put on the robe of righteousness from God’.
