Alluding to Jesus, John the Baptist remarks, “I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” It is, of course, a true statement, but nonetheless, a very remarkable one for John to make. His audience would have immediately gotten the reference; in those days it was the task assigned to the lowest slave/servant to remove the sandals of visitors and wash their feet to remove the dust of the road. It is significant the St. John begins his gospel with such a statement because in the upper room scene in chapter 20, Jesus assumes the role of such a slave/servant to wash the feet of the disciples.
But the Baptist’s statement is significant for a number of reasons. As St. Luke relates, John was the son of Zechariah who was a priest, which for all intents and purposes made John a priest as well, for the priesthood was frequently an inherited position. Perhaps John had rejected his position for what he felt was a higher calling. He certainly neither dressed like a priest, nor dined like one; instead, he dressed in a robe of camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey. And unlike his father, John did not serve in temple in Jerusalem, but preached on the banks of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism for the remission of sin.
John was attracting crowds who were responding to his ministry and being baptized; in time priests were sent to investigate. Since John was not acting as a priest his actions were more prophet-like. He denied that he was the Messiah, only his messenger, nor was he Elijah 2.0 or one of the other prophets; he, instead, “…the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’” Again, what a remarkable statement to make for John and Jesus were, after all related to one another. Their mothers were cousins; presumably they had grown up together, played together, broken bread together many times.
So, where does this bring us to on the Third Sunday in Advent? Well, you and I are, like John the Baptist, related to Jesus. He has called us his brothers and sisters. Again, like John, we are to be about the business of proclaiming the presence of the Lord where we are. He proclaimed his message on the banks of the Jordan; our “Jordan” may be the grocery store, the Wawa, or at our end of a telephone call. Think, if you will, of someone in your life who helped to make a way so that our Lord could enter your heart; their interactions with you in a moment or cumulatively over time made a holy impact on your soul.
Perhaps, to bring things round to where we started, what is our role, if you will, as a Christian in the world? The Baptist says he is not worthy even to untie the thong of Jesus’ sandal—the job of the lowest slave/servant. It may seem odd or counterintuitive in a world where we spend so much time and effort to feel good about ourselves and prop up our self-esteem, but perhaps that what it comes down to; our role is to be servants of others. What would happen, the next time you encounter someone, friend, acquaintance, family member, or stranger, if you posed this question to yourself. How is our Lord calling me to be of service to this person?
