“A voice cries out:

In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!

Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill shall be made low;

the rugged land shall be made a plain,

the rough country, a broad valley.”

“As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.

A voice of one crying out in the desert:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths.’

John the Baptist appeared in the desert…”

The first reading from Isaiah is chosen specifically for its relation to the Gospel reading (both quoted above). The Gospel reading, although attributing it to Isaiah, also quotes from the prophet Malachi, “Now I am sending my messenger—he will prepare the way before me” (Mal 3:1a). Mark fuses these quotes and reinterprets the one from Malachi to apply to John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus (notice the significant change from “me” to “you”). In any case, the familiarization with the scriptures, creative reinterpretation of the same, and application to the new context all would have been highly valued among the Jewish people of Mark’s day. This is one example, but the entire Gospel reading for today is permeated with typologies and references from the Old Testament, creative reinterpretations of those, and application for the advent of Jesus Christ. In its brevity, it is a stunning accomplishment (far beyond the scope of my own competency). 

It can be a model, however, for our own engagement with the Bible in our spiritual lives. The pattern of familiarization, creative reinterpretation, and application can bear much fruit. St. Jerome forcefully observed, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!” Familiarization with scripture, therefore, is familiarization with Christ. We get to know Jesus more personally and intimately through our reading, studying, pondering, praying with, and meditating upon the Bible. Reinterpretation is a tricky thing because our thoughts and musings cannot be authoritative for issues of faith. We receive what is handed on to us. In our personal journeys, however, the scriptures can come alive with meaning. The Letter to the Hebrews states, “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (4:12). It is important to understand, as best we can, the original intent and meaning of the author, but the scriptures are dynamic and come alive in our own, personal reading. They apply to our lives, context, situation, and experience. God speaks to me and to you personally through the Bible. 

For example, I recognize in these readings the contours of my own heart: filled with valleys and mountains, rugged land and rough country. Yet, I am indebted to those in my life who prepared the way for the Lord, those John the Baptists who invested their lives in mine for my own growth in faith, struggle with doubts, answering questions, calling to repentance, and giving inspiration. In turn, how have I been called to prepare the way of the Lord for others? How have you?