John the Baptist is like...
Illustration
John the Baptist is like that eccentric uncle who visits every year around Christmas. But John is worse than eccentric. He can be downright scary. This man is no Dale Carnegie course graduate. Far from it; he's a "How to Lose Friends and Irritate People," in-your-face, "Repent, you brood of vipers" firebrand. John is never in the crèche set. He's never invited to the Christmas pageant. There are no Christmas carols or ornaments for John the Baptist. Yet year after year, John reappears in Advent, and century after century his message to the church and to us is always, "REPENT!" Ready or not, here he comes!
