Dear Friends
2nd Sunday of Advent (December 8)

John the Baptist has a starring role in the Lectionary selections we hear today at Mass. John was a fiery character and, truth be told, the ancient historian Flavius Josephus provides more non-biblical references to John and his activities in the book, Antiquities of the Jews than to Jesus. First-century Israel witnessed the oppressive rule of the Romans. In 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey, on his way to quell a revolt in Armenia, had so much success that he decided to move his Legions south and conquer what we know today as Syria and Palestine. With direct Roman rule over the land of Israel, our friend Herod courted favor with the Romans, meeting directly with Octavian (later, the Emperor Augustus) on the island of Rhodes only to secure his client-kingship of the land we call Israel. Herod (now called, the Great) was responsible for massive urban renovation projects, much of which can still be seen if you tour Israel today. At the death of Herod in 4 BC, his three sons, Herod Philip, Herod Antipas, and Herod Archelaus, ruled in place of their father. Archelaus was an inept ruler and consequently was deposed by the Romans. The province of Judea (with Jerusalem as its major city) was put under the direct control of the Roman military machine of which Pontius Pilate was one of the most famous Roman Prefects or governors. In the north, where Jesus grew up, Herod Antipas maintained a tight grip on economic and political control of Galilee, up to and including the days when Jesus was arrested and finally crucified in Jerusalem.

With such political cruelty and social anxiety, it’s unsurprising that a figure like John the Baptist emerged in the northern region called Galilee. Now, before we begin looking at his role, a word about baptism in ancient Israel. It was around long before Jesus was born. Judaism never sought converts. There were no Jewish missionaries trying to convert peoples in the ancient—or modern—worlds. Biological birth assured one of Jewish status, then as it does today. So, a question arises: How does someone convert if they wish to become Jewish? You probably guessed the answer. You get baptized (literally, dunked in water). To this day if you wish to become Jewish, you walk into a mikvah. A mikvah resembles a small square tub with stairs on both sides. You walk into the water, walk down to the bottom and then proceed to come up on the other side. Once you have entered and exited the mikvah, you have ritualized your conversion to Judaism. In Rochester, the Beth Hatvilah Mikvah is located on St Regis Drive in Brighton.

Now, we have to remember that in the first century there was no such thing as a monolithic Judaism. There were Pharisees, Sadducees, the Temple Hasmonean dynasty, the Essenes and the Zealots (or knife-wielders as they were known), just to name a few. Up in Galilee, within earshot of Jesus’ home town, we find this rather socially unique individual calling for yet another reform movement within Judaism—This was John the Baptist. Scholars think that John was so upset with the wide variety of sullied Jewish groups within Israel that he wanted an entirely new group of Jews to emerge in Israel. And how would he ritualize the expression of this separatist group? Well, he used the ancient (and still practiced) model of conversion: going into the water, only to rise and become truly Jewish. At least we think that this is what John had in mind. Most scholars concur that Jesus was powerfully attracted to this wild and crazy rabble-rouser.

The Scriptures we heard today, as well as later Christianity (when they finally got around to writing the story) place John in a subservient role to Jesus. John was merely trying to form a renewed expression of Judaism. Jesus, of course, was sent to proclaim an entirely new Kingdom. A Kingdom of God. And so John is portrayed as one unworthy to even untie the sandal straps of the real Messiah, the very Son of God incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth.

And so it is that John paves the way and heralds the coming (the Advent) of the real Prince of Peace.