In the audio, both lessons are read, and are followed by a homily by yours truly.

A Lesson from the Gospel according to S. Mark 1.1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; the voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight—.” John the baptizer appeared in the desert, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

A Lesson from Commentary by the Ven. S. Bede (On Mark 1.3 and Homily 1.1)

John cries out in the desert because he announces the consolation of redemption to the forsaken and desolate Judah. What he cries out, however, is revealed when it is added: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Whoever preaches true faith and good works, what else does he do but prepare the way for the Lord to enter the hearts of the listeners, so that the power of grace may penetrate, the light of truth may shine, and make straight paths for God, by forming pure thoughts in the mind through the word of good preaching? . . . It was in the desert that John gave his own baptism and proclaimed the baptism of Christ. Moreover, he lived his whole life in desert places from the time that he was a boy. This was so that as a first-rate teacher he might add the force of his example to what he was proclaiming in words; and as one who was persuading his hearers to forsake their sins in repentance, he might himself turn away from the vices of sinners, not only by mental punishment, but even by his physical location. Symbolically, the desert where John remained separated from the allurements of the world designates the lives of the Saints, who, whether they live as solitaries or mingled with the crowds, always reject the desires of the present world with the whole intention of their minds. They take delight in clinging only to God in the secrecy of their heart, and placing their hope in Him.

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