And Also With You

Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. – Mark 1:6 (NRSV) 

Traditionally, the theme for the second week of Advent is peace. This always makes me laugh because with two weeks left until Christmas, peace eludes most of us. We have parties to prepare, presents to purchase, and people to please, but peace? Ha! 

It’s a relief that the prophet who ushers in the week of peace isn’t Martha Stewart or a martyr who died while making their children perfectly pose for their annual family photo. It is John the Baptist, the man whose Christmas sweater stank of camels and the prophet who ate locusts and honey while everyone else was satisfied with pitas and hummus. 

John the Baptist is an unlikely candidate to be the one who heralds peace each Advent, yet there he is. He has the task of proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, even as his wild, unsightly existence flies in the face of our modern trappings of what peace looks like. John offers a peace that turns upside down our expectations and points us back to God’s holy love of radical acceptance. 

The good news is that if a misfit like John the Baptist is tied to our theme of peace, surely there is room for us with our imperfections and shortcomings this Advent season. His message of peace is one that, when looked at closer, brings assurance, and hope—for the world and for ourselves—rather than one more item on our to-do list or one more way we feel like we are failing to live up to the expectations of the season. 

Prayer
When the noise of the season overwhelms me, may I tune into John’s assurance that Christ is coming anyway. Amen.

About the Author
Liz Miller serves as the Designated Pastor of Granby Congregational Church, UCC and is the author of Only Work Sundays: A Laidback Guide to Doing Less while Helping Your Church Thrive.