It is time to rejoice in God's promise of salvation. Cause for hope in the saving presence of God is also found in the gospel reading. In today's gospel we are introduced to a most fascinating character, John the Baptist. In the wilderness John receives the word of God. And with total conviction and single-hearted determination, the prophet proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Prophets are interesting people.
Often quirky in habit, often filled with dreams and visions of how things ought to be, we usually don't understand them and their movements until we kill them and say they were right. Signs of preparation for the Season are all around us. Live your life forward in the joy of our salvation and not backward in how it used to be.