Image: St John the Baptist, St John Forerunner, orthodox hand-painted icon. In most Christian traditions, St John the Baptist is also known as the “last prophet of the Old Testament”, the “forerunner of Christ” or the “glorious prophet”. Typologically related to the prophet Elijah, the Baptist is represented as having wings, a divine messenger. In Greek, evangelos (from which we get the words “angel” and “evangelist”) means “good messenger”, “the bearer of good news”.
‘To re-orient our lives’
Andrew Collis
Advent 2, Year A
Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12
The word peace, eirene in Greek, means to bind or bring together, to unite or set at one. Peace is the opposite of division or dissension. Peace implies health and wellbeing. We might also add: right relationship, harmony, community. It is one of the apostle Paul’s favourite words, used as a greeting or farewell and corresponding to the Hebrew, shalom.
The gospel calls us to peace …
Last week I was admitted to RPA Hospital for treatment to allay oral pain and fever. I was in some distress – and very mindful of family and community support. Thank you for messages, prayers … and visits to the emergency department and ward.
One upside was witnessing the healing work of public hospital staff, including nurses, of course, who perform astounding feats of expertise, dependability, kindness … day after day. I saw again their commitment to others, long shifts and double shifts – their calls for safe nurse-to-patient ratios (one-to-four, one-to-three in emergency) ignored …
In August, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission increased midwives and nurses’ pay by just 3 per cent … There was also a one-off payment in recognition of astounding feats throughout many months of the pandemic.
The gospel calls us to peace … Today we are challenged, like those who came to see John the Baptist, to re-orient our lives …
Nurses have repeatedly called for unified action alongside workers engaged in industrial disputes, including other health workers, as well as teachers and rail workers …
Calls for peace with justice reverberate …
For too long the base rate of the JobSeeker payment has been below the poverty line, with Youth Allowance even lower. In 2020, the coronavirus supplement temporarily increased income support above the poverty line and changed lives – people were able to keep up with rent and bills, and access essentials like prescription glasses, a working fridge and dental care.
For many people trying to survive on $48 a day means going without medication and medical care …
It can be difficult to endure illness of any kind but how much worse when our nurses are unsupported and feel unsafe at work … how much worse for people – waiting for hours in understaffed emergency departments – unable to afford medicines …
ACOSS (the Australian Council of Social Services) argues we need to “Raise the Rate for Good” so that everyone has enough to cover the basics of life …
Neoliberal social policy includes terms like “workfare”, “mutual obligation”, “help and hassle” – people feel blamed and shamed, punished for circumstances beyond their control. We know there are many and varied circumstances.
Under free-market capitalism, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, as the poet Percy Shelley first astutely observed (1821). In our time and place, the average net worth of the top 20 per cent of households is more than 93 times that of the lowest 20 per cent – some $3.2 million compared to just $35,200. The gap continues to widen …
The gospel calls us to peace, to health and wellbeing … Today we are challenged, like those who came to see John the Baptist, to re-orient our lives …
John’s rustic appearance evokes the prophet Elijah, believed to herald a new messianic age. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness … prepare the way … make straight the path …” (Isaiah 40) refers to the return of Jews from exile in Babylon. John’s baptising in the Jordan, affecting a new exodus, is a symbolic challenge to those in power, Herod Antipas in Galilee and the Romans in Judea (along with religious leaders colluding with oppressive rule).
The meaning of John’s actions is plain: the people remain in Babylonian captivity. And reliance on one’s religious tradition or heritage does no good without living a life in alignment with the values of a messianic age. “The only thing that will count at the judgement, says John, will be ‘bringing forth the fruits of repentance’: good deeds issuing from … genuinely converted heart[s]” (Brendan Byrne).
Re-imagine sharing life with others … re-imagine holiness and country …
The gospel calls us to peace, to health and wellbeing, to right relationship and community … Today we are challenged, like those who came to see John the Baptist, to re-orient our lives … that we might be ready for the One who brings justice and equity, deep peace and compassion … Amen.
Image: Prayer card by Kate Thornley.
