John the Baptist, John the Baptist is the man. He is the last prophet, as I tell the kids that I teach in school, the last prophet. And he’s coming in the form of Elijah. Elijah, of course, is that great prophet in the Old Testament who battles the false prophets and the lords of Baal, and he wears clothing of camel fur and he eats locusts and wild honey, so that’s why John the Baptist is doing these weird things. And Elijah is carried up onto the fiery chariot. So here’s John the Baptist, preparing the way of the Lord. He is our Lord’s cousin, okay? And he calls us to task. He challenges us, challenges us to not be half people. To not be half people, to be all in for the Lord. He attacks the Pharisees. “You brood of vipers, you’re hypocrites.” So how can we not be half people, or half disciples? You know, Saint Augustine has this great quote. He says, “I will not live halved.” And Saint Ignatius of Loyola said the same thing. He goes, “I won’t be a half priest.” I’m not gonna be a priest on the surface, and then inside do something else. And as a Christian, we’re not just gonna pretend to be Christians, but really in our hearts we’re someone else. How can we be all in for Jesus Christ? This is what John the Baptist is challenging us this weekend, the second Sunday of Advent. One thing maybe we can do, knowledge, knowledge of the Lord. So Isaiah talks about this in our first reading, in this prophecy of Isaiah. “The knowledge of the Lord will cover the entire earth “the way the waters cover the land.” He also says the Messiah is gonna come with an instrument, “the rod of His mouth” he calls it. The Messiah’s instrument, His tool, is gonna be the rod of His mouth, preaching the truth. So one way to be all in, to not be a half Christian, is to work on our knowledge of God. Maybe that’s something we can do in these upcoming weeks of Advent. So put aside your Christmas lists. That’s not what Christmas is about. Put aside, or hurry up with your Christmas decorations. Get all that done, and have time to try to gain knowledge of the Lord. So read, ask questions about your faith, pray, bring something that’s stirring in your heart to the Lord and throw it up to God. You know, there’s this great line at the end. John the Baptist says, “He’ll separate the wheat from the chaff.” The way that was done is you just threw up everything, and the wheat settled to the ground because it was heavy, and the chaff kinda got blown away. So throw up whatever’s going in your heart to the Lord, and He will show you what He wants you to focus on. Again, maybe a truth, maybe a question, whatever it is. But friends, work on our knowledge of the Lord. Learn about Jesus Christ, your Beloved, and learn about yourself, and learn about the meaning of life. And if you need help, then ask your local pastor. Maybe he can do so. That’s one way to be all in for Jesus Christ. Amen.