Description
This is one of a number of monologues that I have written for use in worship or some other reflective purpose. This one deals with the events of the end of John the Baptist's ministry as he directs his disciples to follow Jesus instead of him from the point of view of John. Should you like this and like to have more of my material, please contact me through my website www.rogoofsham.co.uk and I will be happy to send you the complete current collection free of charge.
John the Baptist: Laying Down the Burden
John 3: 22-30
Now, at last, the final burden has been lifted from me. As Andrew and my other most faithful of servants leave me and go to follow the master -my master -I am at last free to follow my own destiny. My work is over. My calling is complete. My fate awaits me.
I knew from the start -perhaps even before that -my role was to go before. I was even born before him, my cousin, and every step of my upbringing has brought me to this point. All that time spent studying the laws and the prophets, all those hours at the synagogue, all those days of prayer and contemplation so that I could proudly proclaim the coming of the Lord.
It’s not been an easy road. Even in the small village where I spent my childhood there were distractions -always something to draw my attention to worldly matters and take my eyes off the higher calling. That’s why I went out into the wilderness as soon as I could. That’s why I sought others who were using the emptiness and silence of that place to be closer to god.
But I didn’t stay there. I woke up one morning and knew that the time of my preparation was complete. I knew I had to return to be amongst the ordinary people and fulfill that which had been prophesied for me. So I came out of the wilderness and into the towns and villages around the River Jordan...
Continues...