Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

(Mark 1:1-8) (January 18, 2004)

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”

This prophecy, spoken by Isaiah, is fulfilled by St. John the Baptizer, whose coming was foretold by the prophet Malachi: “Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.” St. John was sent by God to prepare His people for the coming of Christ. He was to bring them to an awareness of their sins, so that they might repent, and accept Christ as Savior and Redeemer.

The fathers tell us that everything about St. John has meaning. For example, consider the way in which he dressed himself: with camels’ hair, and a leather belt around his body. These are symbols of mourning; for those who repent of their sins must mourn for their sins. The garment of camel hair signifies this mourning, through a suffering in the flesh for the sins of the flesh. The leather belt, being dead animal flesh, shows the deadness of the law - that is, its ability on its own to bestow life; and the deadness of those who understand the law in a fleshly, that is, literal and superficial manner.

St. John ate locusts and wild honey. The fathers tell us that the locusts signify the attempt to rise to heaven. Locusts seem to do so when they leap; but, after rising, they fall back to earth. So it is with us in our spiritual lives. On our own, we cannot rise to heaven. The wild honey is produced by wild bees. The fathers tell us that the bees are the prophets; and that the honey are the words of the prophets, the sweetness of the Scriptures. The honey is wild because it was not cultivated, not domesticated; that is, the words of the prophets were not being understood.

And so it is that St. John becomes the voice of one crying in the wilderness; by which the fathers mean us to understand, in the synagogue of the Jews. There could be found the Law and the Prophets; but, because these were not understood, the resulting way of life was wild, even if it did not appear to be so - for adherence to the Law as an external exercise was not the point: it is the transformation of the inner man. We are meant to know that it is not enough to live by the Law. The Law serves to point out to us both our sins, and our inability to overcome these by ourselves.

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” The Way is the Gospel, the good news of our salvation in Jesus Christ the Lord. The paths, the fathers tell us, are the commandments of the Law, which had become twisted over time through neglect and misunderstanding. And so comes St. John the Baptizer, saying, “Prepare yourselves for the life lived according to the Gospel, and make spiritual the commandments of the Law.” This message is meant for us, as well.

The Orthodox Church has her way of life; and, in one sense, we have a collection of laws and rules and regulations that govern the way in which we are to live. There are the rules of fasting: what to eat, and what not to eat, and when. There are the rules for praying: attendance at the worship services of the Church, and private prayers; morning, evening, at mealtimes. There are the rules for alms-giving, such as the tithe. There are rules for when to cross yourself, and when not to do so; when to make bows and prostrations, and when not to do so, and when to do one in place of the other. There are rules about how to dress, and how and where to stand, and who says what when, and who doesn’t… The list seems to be without end.

Please don’t misunderstand me. These rules and regulations and canons are important, and can be of incredible help to us. But we must be careful not to fall into the same trap as did the Jews to whom St. John the Baptist made his proclamation to prepare the way. If we take all these rules and think that, by external compliance with them, we are Orthodox, we show that we, also, do not understand the deeper, spiritual purpose underlying and supporting these rules. If we are not enjoying a life lived according to the good news that our salvation has been accomplished for us by Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and risen from the dead; if we are not living a life in which we labor to discipline ourselves so as to bring our passions into subjection to God as an act of love for God in response to His incredible and merciful love for us, we have not yet prepared the way in our hearts; we have not yet prepared the way of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters: The cry of St. John the Baptizer comes to us: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. He is the messenger sent by the love of God, to call us to remember that love; and to repent of our sins, and to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Let us live by this law, the law of love - to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength; and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Let us live by this law, the law of love, and all the rules and regulations of the Orthodox life - of prayer, and fasting, of alms-giving and struggle, will take their proper place in our lives, serving us and helping us to live a life of love, the life of the Gospel; for the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”