WITH THE FIGURE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST WE REDISCOVER HUMILITY IN THE PRECIOUS DESERT OF ADVENT

The Forerunner, the Baptist, he is the one who speaks in the desert. Wear very sparse clothing, it fed on plants and locusts. This is the typical condition of someone who is in a purification phase of their life.

 

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Dear friends and readers of The Island of Patmos,

anyone who has played a sport, for example football, swimming, horse riding…reminds you of an instructor, an educator, or someone who coached and accompanied him until he became a good footballer, swimmer or jockey …

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In today's Gospel the figure of John the Baptist enters the scene. He who acts as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments and who is similar to the coach we met on the football pitch, in the swimming pool or at the riding stables, prepares us for the way. In this case the way of God. He is introduced to us immediately at the beginning of the pericope:

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«In those days John the Baptist appeared to preach in the Judean desert, saying: «Be converted, because the kingdom of heaven is near!». He is the one who was announced by the prophet Isaiah when he said: The voice of one crying in the wilderness:/ Prepare the way of the Lord, / his paths straight!».

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The Baptist tells us many things, including that the ancient Jewish pact will be modified for an epochal and definitive change. Who, Matthew himself, reports the words of the Baptist who announces a conversion for the coming of the kingdom of heaven, which is close. What does he mean by kingdom of heaven? There is no doubt that for us and the time in which we live the Baptist announces the presence of God and the coming of Christ in history. But before this there is an important detail: the same Isaiah quoted in the Gospel text announces the arrival of an announcer, of a precursor in the desert who will accompany the awareness of the coming of God into our lives. Here then is that Jesus is announced in the desert by someone who prepares his way so that all members of the people can welcome him.

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There is a big announcement for us too of the community of believers. Here Battista is in the person of the church, we theologians will say it represents the whole Church that, despite his defections and ours, that we compose it and that we are all sinners born with original sin, she is the one who helps us get to Jesus. God through the whole Church helps us to straighten our crooked paths to get back on the correct path towards God.

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Now the precursor, the Baptist, he is the one who speaks in the desert. He wears very shabby clothing, it fed on plants and locusts. This is the typical condition of someone who is in a purification phase of their life. The Baptist probably lived a form of life similar to that of the Essenes who had their community at Qumran, a Jewish sect, we would say today, strictly observed. He prepares the way in that desert which can be a physical place but also an interior attitude. In the desert you can travel routes in the sand that you didn't know about. All you need is a wise and attentive guide who knows the desert first. Expert as John was for those he wanted to help convert and he did so through the baptism of conversion that he administered. It was certainly not the sacramental baptism that we know today, but a purification rite that took place through the immersion in the waters of the Jordan of those who had decided to confess and recognize their sins. A penitential practice that washed away sins, from faults and imperfections.

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After passing through the desert sand, you really need refreshing water. Even in the life of faith that we live now in this Advent. Let us rediscover what the sacrament of washing and cleansing our soul is for us, that is, confession. In which after having examined the desertifications of all mortal sins, we can receive the outpouring and washing of reconciliation.

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We ask the Lord to rediscover humility as the basis for daily conversion, to travel through our existential deserts and drink from the always thirst-quenching water of God's love.

Amen!

Santa Maria Novella in Florence, 3 December 2022

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