Second Sunday of Advent: Good Medicine
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
—Matthew 3:1-3
My husband thinks that he is very funny.
When our kids were young, my job was to help sell Christmas cards that supported ministry to college students. They were amazing cards, made by CCO legend Bonnie Liefer, theologically deep and beautifully designed.
And every year, as the new card was released, my husband would ask if this was the year for the John the Baptist Christmas card.
He loved to imagine the artwork. “Oh, how about the brood of vipers? Or the ax at the root of the tree or the unquenchable fire burning the chaff? Merry Christmas!”
Of course, I never shared any of his ideas with Bonnie. And while many of her designs pushed the bounds of traditional Christmas cards, as far as I know, she never featured John with his camel-hair clothing and fiery pronouncements.
John the Baptist doesn’t feel very Christmas-y, does he? Most of us just don’t crave a side of judgment with our peppermint mocha—or a call to repentance written in twinkle lights.
And yet the longer I live, the more I sense that sentimentality and “good tidings” aren’t enough. The presence of John the Baptist—and other prophets—during the Advent season is good medicine. And when you’re sick, or your world is ailing, you need good medicine in order to be made well.
Without God’s medicine of judgment, the infection of evil grows. And without prophets calling us to repentance, we may misdiagnose every illness as “someone else’s fault.”
So this week, we’re going to take a look at the darkness—not as an end in itself, but so that we might see it with Christ at our side, turn, and be healed.
—Jennifer Pelling is a writer and editor with the CCO’s Marketing & Communications Team. She is managing editor of the CCO Advent Devotional.
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
—Matthew 3:1-3
My husband thinks that he is very funny.
When our kids were young, my job was to help sell Christmas cards that supported ministry to college students. They were amazing cards, made by CCO legend Bonnie Liefer, theologically deep and beautifully designed.
And every year, as the new card was released, my husband would ask if this was the year for the John the Baptist Christmas card.
He loved to imagine the artwork. “Oh, how about the brood of vipers? Or the ax at the root of the tree or the unquenchable fire burning the chaff? Merry Christmas!”
Of course, I never shared any of his ideas with Bonnie. And while many of her designs pushed the bounds of traditional Christmas cards, as far as I know, she never featured John with his camel-hair clothing and fiery pronouncements.
John the Baptist doesn’t feel very Christmas-y, does he? Most of us just don’t crave a side of judgment with our peppermint mocha—or a call to repentance written in twinkle lights.
And yet the longer I live, the more I sense that sentimentality and “good tidings” aren’t enough. The presence of John the Baptist—and other prophets—during the Advent season is good medicine. And when you’re sick, or your world is ailing, you need good medicine in order to be made well.
Without God’s medicine of judgment, the infection of evil grows. And without prophets calling us to repentance, we may misdiagnose every illness as “someone else’s fault.”
So this week, we’re going to take a look at the darkness—not as an end in itself, but so that we might see it with Christ at our side, turn, and be healed.
—Jennifer Pelling is a writer and editor with the CCO’s Marketing & Communications Team. She is managing editor of the CCO Advent Devotional.