The silence of God had fallen over Israel like a dark cloud of despair. The voice of a prophet would fall on deeply fertile ground. The people were primed for a new age of faith.
And so, God spoke.
He did not speak as he had spoken on Sinai, through thunder, earthquake, and fire…throwing the people into fear. He did not speak with the voice of thunder and mighty ocean as he spoke in dreams to Daniel, who woke from his dreams a shattered man. And he did not speak with the anger or warning of catastrophe as he did through Amos.
He spoke quietly: First through angels in the dreams of people like us…Zachariah, Mary, Joseph: Then in the stillness of the night in Bethlehem, in the tired cry of a newborn: Then with joy through the angels to the shepherds. And then he was quiet again, but no longer silent, as two young boys, one prophet…one Christ, grew and learned how to laugh, then to speak, then to shout, and finally to raise their voices to heaven itself.
Only then, and first through the prophet, did God again speak to his people…his dry, dusty people, so prepared for the water of life. It was the fullness of time.
Luke, master of details, was careful to identify the time when God began speaking again. “It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests.” The fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius was A.D. 29.
And Peter, master of direct statements, began his gospel with these words: “This is the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written: ‘Look, I am sending a messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him.’’ This messenger was John the Baptist.”
John tells a bit more about John the Baptist in his gospel. “God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”
Once John was raised by his parents he went to the desert, living a spare and lean life, a bit of a wild man. He was a true prophet, afraid of no one, intent on his message. He was the voice of God. More tomorrow as we see John setting the stage for the messiah.
Prayer: “Great Father, my life is filled with noise. Many voices compete for my attention, often all at the same time. And many of the voices I hear use the attraction of my baser motives in order to gain my attention. I do not ask for quietness, but for a quiet spirit that chooses your voice first and best. I ask you to make my spirit so attuned to your voice that all other voices are put in their right and proper place. Speak to me and teach me to live in your light. Amen.”