John the Baptist said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”

John is saying, “I am the voice, the mouth of the Lord. I am not the Word, I am the voice.”

Like John, the church’s voice in the community helps prepare the way for God to enter into our life. The voice of the Church, speaking the Word, prepares a place for God to do amazing things in your life. The Church, the voice, doesn’t do it, but Christ, the Word, does it. Going to church services, or taking part in the activities and work that this Christian community does, is a way to make a path in the wilderness and desert of our lives. The ups and downs of life are made smooth as Christ comes into our daily life to reveal God’s glory.

The church is not the Word and neither are we as individual Christians. But, like John, our individual voices can help make way for God to enter into the lives of others. As a voice we can speak and repeat the Word, but we are not the word.  So we need to show humility in being the voice, we may speak the Word, but we’re are not the Word. Jesus only is the Christ. That said, we are still “the voice” and we have an important job to do. We must speak and act, as our ability allows us, to give volume, tone, and passion to the Word.

The light of the world, Jesus Christ, is shining amount us, it reveals that we are not alone. Take strength in the Word. Take strength in our followship together. Take strength in the sacrament we share, and be the voice. The voice of “one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”