Download Material
The ornaments to print out for the Jesse Tree
Understanding the Jesse Tree

Friday of the Third Week of Advent
John the Baptist, cousin of Jesus
Luke 1:57-80 (NRSV)

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.  On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up a mighty savior for us
    in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

    that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
    and has remembered his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
    to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
    before him all our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    by the forgiveness of their sins.

By the tender mercy of our God,
    the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

John the Baptist's role was to prepare and make ready for Jesus' arrival. When it was time for Jesus to begin his ministry, John the Baptist knew that it was time for him to decrease and time for Jesus to increase.   Before Jesus came, many were following John and being baptized for he preached the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  This was only for a time because when Jesus came, his message took John’s message a step further and spoke of God’s great mercy and call to communion in the forgiveness of sins.  John knew that it was his time to step down, to decrease, to now give center stage to Jesus who was going to take it from there and accomplish the great work of His Father.  Human beings have always been tempted to keep center stage.  We like stardom, we like accolades, we pay attention to who is the best in a field and we give lots of awards.  Moreover it is hard to accept at times that our work is done, and it is time for someone else to take it from here.  We have politicians, corporate leaders, and family members who will not let go of their office, not go into retirement and let go of the control and the power, or even think of sharing the limelight.  If only they could take the words of John the Baptist, "I must decrease so that He may increase."  These words need to be on the lips of every Christian in his or her relationship with God. Our egos decrease so that the presence of God increases.

When John the Baptist grew up he helped people get ready to hear the message of Jesus. He told the people to repent, to turn from their sins, because the kingdom of heaven was near. Many people came to hear his message and be baptized by him.  The prophets had spoken about John's coming and called him a voice in the wilderness. God used John to help people be prepared for his promised plan.

Talk together as a family about the need to let the work of Christ shine through our actions for when we do good. It is God doing good in us and we praise and thank Him for the good.  Explore how sometimes God sends us things to prepare us for the bigger things in life.