I will always remember the opening of Godspell and John the Baptist's cry from below the balcony seats at Bournemouth theatre. A magnificent tenor voice resounded through the auditorium as if coming from no particular place "Prepare ye the way of the Lord". The soul wrenching sound came out of nowhere and extended an invitation that was hard to deny. It is a call that echos throughout the world at this time of year a constant and repeated reminder of our call extending through life from the moment of baptism to our mortal final hours on this planet. A call that is reiterated in every injustice and war that we initiate, participate or allow through our inaction in response to Gods call. Mark repeats the call of Isaiah "prepare the way of the Lord; clear a straight path for him" (Mk. 1.3; Isaiah 40.3) and the question in our hearts must be "How are we to respond?".
At baptism for anyone young or old, we re-affirm our response to the call that God places on us. Parents and Godparents do this for the child and as older adults we undertake the response for ourselves. A response that places the other in front of our own wants and desires. A response that brings to the forefront of our lives the elusive concepts of justice, peace and love. We straighten the paths of our lives by living to the truest form of God's call. We place behind us the concerns that beset our everyday lives to which we surrender on a daily basis. We place to the fore a concern for the person least likely to draw our attention in the work place and the social havens we inhabit. The social outcast the one who is alone at the bar. It is our barriers that the baptist's call breaks so that we can respond with compassion and understanding.
The breaking into our lives of the baptist call reminds us to try to grapple with the elusive concepts that we label justice, peace and love. The call is an irritant on our lives that is expecting something from us but we are not sure what. We strive for the elusiveness of the concepts when we see things that are abhorrent to what we find acceptable for our society. The malfeasance of incarceration of those seeking peace and refuge. The aberrant behaviour of a few in terms of their use of power over the innocent and how we are to grapple with the consequences. It is at the time of failure that we see hear the insistent call of God but are unprepared to answer in truth. We find it difficult not to dissemble and squirm our way out of blame. The insistence of God's call from baptism onwards disarms are rational minds as everything we think of favours someone and disfavours another. We want our lives to reflect the good but we want those who are less fortunate to obtain the privileges and rights of justice and peace. Yet, we privilege ourselves in the battle for justice and not those who are different.
Baptism calls us to break the cycle of privilege and reiterate the call for justice. A quiet insistent voice that calls us into acts of defiance to highlight the plight of the disadvantaged. It is quaint to champion our own doubts and terrors but it is powerful when we fully engage in / with the plight of those caught in a cycle of deprivation and poverty. What is it in this community that calls to us from our baptism? What is it in the world community that calls to us from our baptism? As young people it should be the concerns expressed in the conversations of our parents and godparents that turn us to address the reality of life and find an answer to God's call on us. It is when the future breaks in upon the older generation through the love and wonder expressed by the younger that we begin to create that which God calls us to do. It is not generated by the old for the young but by the young for the experience of the old to craft. So let us listen to the young who are closer to God's call as they have not privileged themselves by their prejudices and fears. In doing so we respond to the future that comes to us in Christ, incarnated and as judge.
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