In the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Advent, the evangelist Luke presents John the Baptist as one in a long line of Jewish prophets called by God to speak to God’s people. Luke quotes a beautiful passage from Isaiah which states that the coming of the Lord is for all humankind. Now, that coming is imminent.
There is some irony in today’s Gospel. Our evangelist wants to let his hearers know exactly when John began his ministry of preaching and baptizing. So he states that this happened in the fifteenth year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Then he lists the names of the regional rulers in and around Judea. But God’s word did not come to any of these people. God spoke to John, the son of a priest, who had gone into the desert to prophesy. John’s words did reach many people, however, and the stage was set for Jesus.
Who is speaking God’s Word today? In what situations can we hear the voice of God? Can we find God on social media? Perhaps. But we must be careful in discerning what really is of God. One of the best ways of doing this is to go back to the words and works of Jesus. And not to do this as an isolated individual but as part of a community that truly wants to do the work of our Lord in the 21st century.