Advent: John

The central figure for today is John the Baptist. He proclaimed, that “one who is more powerful” is on the way. So, he began to get himself ready.

He moved to the wilderness. Lived with the animals. Ate grasshoppers. Dressed in itchy clothing.

John the Baptist was hard-core. He learned there was - and is - a better way. Earnest disciples today do not consider the blood-and-guts approach of John the Baptist to be normal. Instead, we look to Jesus, the “author and perfecter of our faith,” and we “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and we run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Jesus discipleship is humbling and counterintuitive. John the Baptist felt unworthy to assume even the most humble task of removing the sandals of Jesus, as was the custom in those days when dining socially.

John teaches us that discipleship is not about us, not about the self, and that is so different. The focus is not  on improving ourselves, enhancing our discernment, listening to our inner this or that. We are not traing for the gold, we are training for God.