Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 20 verses 1 through 7:
One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders 2and said to him, ‘Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?’ 3He answered them, ‘I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ 5They discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why did you not believe him?” 6But if we say, “Of human origin”, all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.’ 7So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8Then Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’
It is the second day of the Advent season and all the Lectionary preachers in the land are already thinking of John the Baptist, who will come to us next Sunday, preparing the way for the Lord.
John was a real radical — a voice crying in the wilderness. The religious authorities tried their best to ignore that voice. They would have wanted to suppress it. But John had tapped into something powerful in the people. He was talking justice and equity and preaching a non-racialized kingdom of God. It was radical indeed; and people from all walks of life — high and low, rich and poor — came out to hear and be baptized by him. Jesus came out to be baptized by him.
And when John was imprisoned, Jesus took up his mantle.
Neither John nor Jesus had the imprimatur of the priestly nor political class to do what they did. But they had something else. They had the power of the living God alive inside them.
That was more than enough spark to start the fire.
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