The lectionary wants us to focus this morning on the work of John the Baptist.[1]  I will give the lectionary the benefit of the doubt and assume that it is attempting to keep us focused on Advent and not get ahead of ourselves by jumping into the ministry of Jesus.  Certainly we make no progress in rehearsing the ministry of Jesus in the next 2 weeks with Gospel readings from John’s prologue next week and Luke’s opening the 4th week of Advent. What we meet today is John the Baptist who in most Advent pageants is usually a rough cut guy on a lonely quest to baptize Jews so that they might be saved from their sins.  As we think of him he is pretty tame.  Eccentric but harmless with a weird diet and dress.  It is hard to see why he needed to be beheaded he is so harmless.
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