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The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. They voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderrness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (vs. 1-4)
The English word "Gospel" is derived from the Greek "εύαγγέλιου" meaning "good news". Thus we have here the beginning of the fulfillment of the Old Testament in Jesus Christ. The great disobedience perpetrated in the Garden of Eden and the subsequent expulsion of mankind from paradise is now to be undone in the ultimate act of obedience and generosity that is the Incarnation.
Referencing both past and present, a call has gone out to all those who will listen and who have their eyes and ears and hearts attuned to what the Lord God is saying. The time of preparation is about to be fulfilled.
Two references from the Old Testament here are Isaiah 40:3 ("The voice of him that crieth in the wildeness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.") and the idea of God appearing "before thy face". Think of Moses on Mt. Sinai, but especially here of Elijah, particularly I Kings 19:1-17. No doubt, as seen previously, challenging things are in store for the one who has been called. At the very least when reading these verses, we ought to bear in mind Moses leading the people through the wilderness. Unlike us, however, he was only allowed to look upon the Promised Land before he died. So the Good News for us is that we are indeed allowed to cross over into all that the Christian life has to offer.
Having incurred the wrath of Jezebel (I Kings 19:2), Elijah flees into the wilderness and begs the Lord to take his life. Acknowledging that things have been and indeed will be difficult, the angel of the Lord brings him nourishment. Right here is a shadow of the sacramental system to be inaugurated in the New Testament for the use of the Church. As Elijah was twice nourished by the gift of God, so we both at the very beginning of our Christian lives are refreshed by Baptism and at regular intervals are provided with Holy Communion for "the strengthening and refreshing of our souls by the Body and Blood of Christ"(1928 American BCP Catechism, p. 582).
As we will see in chapter 6, the fate of the voice in the wilderness is as likely as not to be martyrdom. For in the desert, which is a place hostile to all but the hardiest life, nothing superfluous can survive. That is why the early monastics fled to the deserts, in order to burn away their selfishness and pretence, to be purified in an arid place where only what is essential will survive. Thus it is a highly symbolic place that can effect what it signifies.
So already in these opening verses we are told that there is Good News here, that what was long fortold will come to pass. In Moses, Elijah and John the Baptist the Christian life is referenced in both its sacramental and sacrificial aspects. We know where we are going, but cannot get there without passing through death to eternal life. It will be a difficult go, but we are given very real helps to sustain us. It will cost us something dear in terms of our own identity, our relationships with other people or institutions and it may even cost us our lives. This is the Good News we have now been introduced to.
