I had a friend who was a teacher and he treasured the ‘howler’ about John the Baptist served up to him in his school teaching days. The exam question had been “What did John the Baptist eat?” The answer received was, “Crocuses and wild honey.”
John the Baptist’s diet in the gospel
It is an oddity of the Gospels that we are told what John the Baptist ate and wore but we have no such biographical information about Jesus. John’s food and wardrobe – locusts, the wild honey, the camel hair coat – are mentioned so that readers who knew their Bibles would make the connection with Elijah, whose diet and dress were the same.
John a second Elijah
John is an Elijah figure, Elijah who, the story says, did not die properly and so was expected back as the herald of the Messianic age. John would probably not have approved of a Sunday in Advent devoted to him or of having his own feast day. His work was to point beyond himself to the one to come. That work done, his wish was that we should lose sight of him. “He must increase. I must decrease”. But of course John’s work is not done. In the wilderness of our days we do not notice the approach of the Lamb of God. John is still crying to us: “For God’s sake look who’s coming!”
A prayer
Lord Jesus, Light of the world,
John told the people to prepare,
for you were very near.
As Christmas grows closer day by day,
help us to be ready to welcome you now.
Bernhard Schunemann
