INTRODUCTION

They say that every individual has a unique set of fingerprints. So, if there are 6 billion people living today, then we have 6 billion different fingerprints. They say that every individual has a unique voice. Thus it is possible for scientists to verify whether the purported voice of Osama Bin Laden on a terrorism threat tape is really his voice.

Every voice has its own “sound imprints” and inflections unique to each individual. For example, I can still recall (or rehear in my mind’s ear) the voice of my grandfather, who died more than 28 years ago. Or I still remember the shrill voice of a friend of mine, who wanted to become a public speaker, but was advised to consider another career because his voice was unbearable to listen to.

Voices—they leave us with first and lasting impressions. Today, on this second Sunday of Advent, we hear a voice in the wilderness. We must listen to that voice, for the voice of John the Baptizer calls us to Advent action.

THE MAN AND HIS VOICE

Do you remember the story of the young man, Samuel, when he heard that voice in the night? He went to sleep, lying down in the temple of the Lord, and in the silence of the night, Samuel heard a voice. He thought it was the voice of his mentor, Eli. But Eli sent him back to bed. “No, I did not call you, Samuel.”

Again, Samuel heard that voice, and again Samuel went to his mentor, Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Eli sent Samuel back again to bed, because he certainly had not called Samuel. When Samuel heard that voice for the third time and went to Eli, Eli caught on that the Lord was calling Samuel. Scripture tells us that “Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him” (I Samuel 3:7). Samuel needed to learn to recognize and pay attention to the voice of the Lord.

Ask yourself: what voice is that in the wilderness? Who is speaking here? What we hear is

· A PROPHETIC Voice:

John the Baptizer is a prophet of God. When John speaks, we hear a prophetic voice. In the days of John the Baptizer, the people of Israel were hoping for, and looking for a political figure that would restore Palestine to its former glory days—as in the days of Solomon. They were looking for a man, anointed by God, to overcome the Roman occupation of the land, and to throw the Romans out of Israel. They were eagerly looking for a political Messiah, a Savior anointed (or set apart) by God.

Now the people of Israel know their history. They know, for example, that Moses—the Savior of the Israelites in Egypt—was a miracle child, saved by Pharaoh’s daughter from the waters of the Nile, if not from the crocodiles that swam in the Nile River. Saved miraculously, Moses was destined to be Israel’s deliverer and prophet.

The people of Israel also know that God’s prophets tend to emerge from the desert. Having roamed around in the desert for 40 years as a shepherd, Moses emerged from the desert as a prophet to lead them to the Promised Land. Prophets were often born under unusual circumstances; and their births often came with unusual signs. These are important things to remember when listening to the voice in the wilderness. For that voice fits the bill of a biblical prophet. Note also:

John the Baptizer was a miracle child: his mother was a barren woman, beyond child-bearing age, when God opened her womb. His father became a sign to Israel, for as High priest in the temple, God struck him speechless, so that he was unable to pronounce the High priestly blessing upon the Israelites. Note also that

John the Baptizer was an unusual figure. He wandered and made his bed in a cave, somewhere near the Jordan in the desert of Judea. His “clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his wait. His food was locusts and wild honey.” John looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck. Therefore, John is…a prophet!

That’s right. What we hear today is the voice of a prophet. Matthew drives home that very point when he places John’s arrival on the scene of history in the context of Isaiah’s prophecy: “This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’’” When John speaks, we hear a prophetic voice.

We also hear

· A CONFRONTATIONAL

Voice: You see, when John speaks, you may get the shivers; your hair on your back may stand up. Our comfort zone gets discombobulated; Our anxiety level rises. All our defenses tend to go up when we hear John’s prophetic voice. For that voice confronts us like no other. Listen to him speaking to the religious leaders of his day: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”

Of course, it’s not only John’s straightforwardness that confronts us; it’s also his radical, hippy, homeless, lifestyle that rattles us a bit. After all, why would we—middle class, upstanding citizens of the Twin Cities—be lectured to and spurred on to faith by a fanatical zealot or hic from the desert of Judea? Yet, we do well to listen to this voice in the wilderness, for he calls us to Advent action.

THE VOICE’S MESSAGE

So listen to that voice’s message. First of all, the voice in the wilderness issues a warning to the devout, religious people of his day: “…do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” Hiding behind our ethnic bloodlines does NOT excuse us from paying attention to John’s advent message. Thinking that we are saved and that we are in no need of admonition and repentance because we are “baptized,” or “raised in a Christian home,” or are “members of the Christian Reformed Church,” does NOT excuse us from John’s Advent call to action. John’s voice comes to us today with a warning.

Secondly, the prophetic voice of John calls us to repent. Listen: (vs.2) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Or (vs. 8) “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” And (vs.10) “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Surely, when you pay attention to the confrontational, prophetic voice of John, we can’t go on with life the way we are going. We must make a U-turn. John’s message is an Advent call to action.

Thirdly, John’s message is undeniably a good news announcement. There is gospel in his message! Using the sign of his water baptism, John points to that gospel or good news when he says: “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.” Someone greater than John is coming! Look for Him, says John in this Advent season. Take action! Look for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in your life! Don’t stare yourself blind on me, John the Baptizer, but gaze upon and follow the One who is greater than any other creature on earth.

John fleshes out that good news by telling us that this Jesus “…will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” The Holy Spirit is the Living Water of God who refreshes, who brings to new life, who regenerates all who turn to Jesus Christ. In fact, the baptism or coming of the Holy Spirit makes these renewal movements in our lives possible. The fire of the Spirit is his purifying action in our lives, where he applies the blood of Jesus to all our sins and thus cleanses or washes away all that what spoils and taints us. This is the good news announcement of John.

Did you notice? In declaring this good news and in using the symbol of fire, John the Baptizer gives us a picture of Jesus as a harvester. Listen: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” In this picture we sense the tension that the good news of salvation brings to us: the harvesting done by the Son of God will involve a separation: for those who look up to Jesus, the harvest will mean joy; for those who look down on Jesus or ignore him, the harvest will mean sorrow.

Thus we hear the voice in the wilderness, issuing a warning to us: (don’t hide behind your religiosity), extending a call to repentance: (produce fruit in keeping with repentance), and announcing good news: (look for Someone greater than I; look for Jesus, the Lamb of God! And be prepared to face the Judge on Judgment Day.)

APPLICATION

When Samuel, the boy, understood that he was hearing the voice of God, he said: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” As we hear today the voice of God’s prophet, John, let’s be sure to do likewise. Let’s present ourselves as servants of God. The Advent voice of John calls us to action that is marked by repentance—a turning away from deliberate sinful actions and sinful ways.

That calls for self-examination by each one of us. That calls for humility, and a spirit of contriteness; yes, true repentance calls for a hardened heart to become broken before God.

Such brokenness before God also calls for changes in our behavior, so that we produce fruit of repentance. That fruit becomes visible when we live in the power of the Holy Spirit. That fruit becomes visible in the way we speak, and act and relate to another. It also becomes visible in the way we live out our faith, in the way we profess that faith in our world.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.