Father, help us to do what you want, and not what the world wants.
John the Baptist was a distant relative of Jesus, as his mother Mary, was the cousin of Elisabeth (Luke1:36). And, like Jesus, his birth was foretold by an angel, but this time to his father Zacharias. Zacharias was a priest. It was his job to tell the people about the good news (Gospel) of God. Unlike many of the priests he tried to do what God wanted him to do. But he was to have a very special son with a very special job.
His job was to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus. There had been no prophets for about 400 years, the priestly rituals had become monotonous repetition. He was to 'wake the nation up' and get them ready.
And that is certainly what he did.
There are lots of parallels between then and now (and why Jesus speaks of another John the Baptist in the last days). Religion had become a 'good business'. By giving the customer what they want, by watering down the requirements while at the same time making them more complex so only a few (highly paid) people could understand them and by incorporating other faith's beliefs to make it 'easier to sell' they had lost the faith. (and if that sounds like modern times then don't be too surprised – Jesus said that would happen).
The church is a big money earner for some people. The Bishop of Durham spent £13,000,000 redecorating his house and that was quite a few years ago now. Right through the middle ages the church encouraged anyone to donate money when they died and they would pray for them. It made a lot of Bishops, Abbott, etc very rich and they got very comfortable with their new money and decided to get others to join their 'flock'. To do this they made 'deals' with the faith. The major one was going to heaven. Christianity was not too popular in the north or Scotland, because the Vikings believed in a roaring afterlife. What had Christianity to offer? Being dead for a long period of time, then being judged. So to make it more 'sellable' they came up with an alternate afterlife that had no mention in the Bible. (It actually says point blank you don't, but they didn't read their Bibles either!)
But that has been happening, as still does. There's a high percentage of homosexuals, so include them, there's a lot of women who might be put off if there's no chance of promotion, so include them as well. History doesn't seem to change. The same mistakes are still being made with monotonous regularity.
What needs to happen is someone who will stand up and say "No, that is wrong. It is not what God wants!"
What is needed is another John the Baptist to 'prepare the way of the Lord'. Hopefully it will be soon.
Why has Christianity been changed so suit people and not God?
How can we know what God wants us to do?
What did John the Baptist do that made him special?