Living Out Our Calling

if you listen to the prophecy about John the Baptist’s birth, it seems like he’s going to be a pretty religious guy. But when you look at how he played it out, it looks different. Listen in to the forecast of who John would be:

He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” - Luke 1:15-17

Did you notice things like turning people back to God, helping people not be disobedient, and preparing people to meet God? Sounds pretty religious. At least to the ears of those of us who have been trained by White evangelicalism.

But when you look at what John actually did, it aligns with a far more justice oriented faith. Sure, he was Jesus centered. But it wasn’t about a pie-in-the-sky religion or about a moralistic goody-goody religiosity.

When John showed up, this is the conversation he had with people:

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” - Luke 3:12-14

John really wanted to people to know and follow Jesus, but the way he prepared them for this was not telling them to read their bible more or to pray a certain way. Instead, he insisted that they live justly and generously and gratefully. His message lined up perfectly with the angel’s words - but only if you have a robust picture of what it means to follow Jesus. It’s not about being scrupulously religious, but instead it’s about doing justice I the world like Jesus would do himself.

How does this sit with you today?