John,
the son of the priest Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth, lived in the desert.
When God called him to be his messenger, he went to a place near the Jordan river and said to the people:
Mend your ways! Change your lives! Be baptised in the Jordan so that God will
forgive your guilt. It was as the prophet Isaiah had written:
A
voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make a straight path
for God. Every valley shall be raised, every mountain and hill shall be
levelled. What is crooked shall be made straight and what is rough, smooth.
And all mankind shall see God’s gift of salvation. (Is 40, 3-5)
Many
people came to John at the Jordan. They requested baptism
and asked: What should we do? John said: whoever has two cloaks should give
one to someone who has none. Whoever has enough to eat should share with the
hungry.To the tax-collectors he said:
Do not demand for more than is stipulated. And to the soldiers: Do not
plunder, do not blackmail and be content with your pay.
Many
thought that John was the Messiah, the Saviour. But John said to them: I am
baptising you only with water. After me there will come One who is mightier
than I. I am not worthy to undo his sandal straps. He will baptise you with
the Holy Spirit and with the fire of judgement.