Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:16.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27.

I loved this in You Are The Beloved by Henri Nouwen: “To care means first of all to empty our own cup and to allow the other to come close to us. It means to take away the many barriers that prevent us from entering into communion with the other. When we dare to care, then we discover that nothing human is foreign to us, but that all the hatred and love, cruelty and compassion, fear and joy can be found in our own hearts. When we dare to care, we have to confess that when others kill, I could have killed too. When others torture, I could have done the same. When others heal, I could have healed, too. And when others give life, I could have done the same. Then we experience that we can be present to the soldier who kills, to the guard who pesters, to the young man who plays as if life has no end, and to the old man who stopped playing out of fear for death. By the honest recognition and confession of our human sameness we can participate in the care of God who came, not to the powerful but powerless, not to be different but the same, not to take our pain away but to share it. Through this participation we can open our hearts to each other and form a new community.” I loved that because that is what Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, did when He came to live among us and as He chooses to be with us still.

And in our chapter, Matthew 3, we are introduced to the first prophet of God in 400 years for the people living then; and people were intrigued and went out to the wilderness where he taught to listen. 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.’” (Isaiah 40:3). John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And 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. 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. I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 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.” v. 1-12. Imagine hearing these powerful words from this prophet of God. Did they wonder if they were getting wrong what they were teaching about God? People were coming to listen and were being changed by John’s message. And then as John was baptizing in the Jordan River…Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” v. 13-17.

John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Jesus, to make straight paths for Him and for the people longing to know God. And John was completely different from the religious leaders of their day. And Jesus, the Son, was completely different from what they expected the Messiah to be. Are our expectations of God completely different from what He IS? When we yearn for understanding and closeness with God, we are washed in His love for us. Our eyes are opened to hope that is real. The meaning of life is forever changed. Our life is in Him who loves us and came to live among us as He showed us what living in God’s love means. The old hatreds and fears fall away and there He is – where He has always been – loving us. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near…and He is with us still!