The Cousins

In one sense, the importance given to John the Baptist in Advent is puzzling. For he does not belong here: he has no role in the preparation for the birth of Jesus, which we celebrate at Christmas. Nor does he have any direct connection with our expectation of the End, which is the other keynote of this season. And yet the Gospel readings for the two middle Sundays of Advent concern the relationship between John and Jesus. (His reappearance in the Epiphany season makes more sense, for the preaching of John in the wilderness leads to Jesus’ Baptism by him, and the revelation of his status as the Father’s Beloved Son.)

Yet how impoverished our Advent observance would be without the Baptist and his presence, warning of judgement and calling for repentance! It’s not just that we wouldn’t be able to sing “On Jordan’s bank”; rather, the emphasis on John’s proclamation and demands warns us not to be sentimental about the birth of Jesus - or blasé about the Last Things. John reminds us of the cutting edge of the Gospel, which is too easily blunted by the intrusion of Victorian carols and school Nativity plays into the weeks before we actually celebrate the Birth.

Christian teaching always treads a tightrope between an over-emphasis on judgement, and a one-sided view of grace. Certainly, we cannot earn, let alone deserve, our salvation; it is essentially and necessarily an amazing gift, freely given by a merciful and loving God. But we cannot ignore Jesus’ teaching about the importance, indeed the necessity, of the right response to God’s love. We have to forgive others, to demonstrate that we have accepted and understood our own forgiven-ness. We have to love our neighbour, whoever he or she is, and resist the human tendency to tribalism and exclusiveness. Our righteousness is to exceed that of the highly moral scribes and Pharisees. And our failure to feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned or welcome the stranger has serious and eternal significance.

John stands to remind us that the path to the Kingdom is open - to those who repent, and acknowledge their need to be cleansed. At the same time, his baptising offers us an invitation to make a fresh start – which is why so many flocked to the banks of the Jordan to take that opportunity. By giving high priority to this man, who is greater than any other human prophet – and at the same time no greater than any others who accept the Kingdom (I take that to be the meaning of Luke 7:28) – the Church reminds us of the paradox at the heart of our faith. We are saved by grace alone, but we are also called to work out our salvation ‘in fear and trembling’.

So although there might appear to be a contrast between the two – John with his demand for righteous works, against Jesus with his offer of grace, that is a mistake. John is the Forerunner of the Christ and the Gospel he proclaims. For John, like Jesus, confronts the self-righteous and the overtly religious, while providing hope for the downtrodden and the downcast. He offers a way out of despair, which requires nothing more than a willingness to swallow one’s pride and accept the gift of forgiveness. And John’s readiness to suffer rejection and death for what he asserts points us beyond him to the greater and efficacious sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away human sin.

Luke provides an image of the family relationship between John and Jesus, as cousins, whose conceptions share certain characteristics, as will their deaths. By including the accounts of the Baptist in the Advent lectionary, the Church reminds us of their ‘theological’ relationship. John may remind us of the seriousness of sin rather than deal with it; but in that way he helps us to prepare more fully to welcome the Saviour, who will set us free from its power.