Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt
around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Matthew 3:4
John the baptizer is an unusual character. His fashion sense and favorite
foods have never been in style, even as a momentary fad. With his camel
hair clothing bound by a strap of leather and his diet of locusts and wild
honey, John was an outcast and a rebel: a radical as wild and unkempt as
the wilderness where he lived and preached.
Today, John’s prominent place in the story announcing the coming of
Jesus and the arrival of the kingdom of heaven remains far outside
of what we consider elegant: in society and even in our practice of
Christianity. John’s appearance reminds us of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings
1:8), letting us know that John was continuing God’s work on the margins
of human societies.
Our world—including you and me—constantly falls short of, and runs
away from, what God wants for all of creation. God desires that every
person—regardless of where they are born and what circumstances they
face—can live a life filled with the dignity of being created in God’s image.
When we have the compassion, courage, and resolve to step outside of
what this world sees as elegant or proper and join John and the prophets
on the margins, we are actively announcing and building the kingdom of
heaven and the presence of Jesus in the broken places of our world.
Where are the margins God is calling you to share the presence of Jesus?
Who lives there? What do they need to be set free from? Is it ongoing
cycles of dehumanizing poverty, violence, or bigotry? Is it the sudden
shock of a life-altering disaster? In a world that is crying out for
something better than we see every day, how can you join God in
bringing good news?
God of the margins and the outcast, turn our attention toward that
which breaks your heart. Give us courage and resolve to step beyond
what this world deems elegant and equip us to take actions that announce
your presence. Amen.
The Rev. Matt Staniz is Lead Pastor of Saint Luke Lutheran Church
in Devon, Pennsylvania.
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