A Recipe for a Savior Day # 17

ADD GRASSHOPPERS

Day # 17

Matthew 3:4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

            Have you ever tried a grasshopper? No, not the dessert or a drink but the insect called grasshopper. I have to admit that I have not. It sure isn’t an ingredient we would readily add to our diet or our recipes. I googled “grasshopper insect recipes” and came up with several. One of them was a deep fried grasshopper while another was to be prepared as a snack. Really? That is not for me.

            Yet it was another ingredient of A Recipe for a Savior. Earlier we talked about preheating the oven by sending the prophet Elijah before the day of the Lord. Today, we add grasshoppers into the recipe for this was a part of the diet of the one who prepared the way of the Lord. This one is John the Baptist who came before the Savior in the power and spirit of Elijah. The Lord had added him into A Recipe for a Savior through two aging parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. (You can read more about them in Luke 1:5-25, 57-80.) This addition brings some “pop” to the recipe.

            John is known as the Baptist for he was at the Jordan River baptizing people for the repentance of sins. He called the people to prepare for the coming of the day of the Lord, the coming of the Savior. He called the people to repent of their sins, turning from them and returning to the way of the Lord. He was a vital addition to A Recipe for a Savior because the Lord had promised this special one who could prepare the hearts for the people for the fullness of this recipe.

            I am still not going to try grasshopper in any sort of recipe. I will stick to the grasshopper dessert. But you and I are called by John, this forerunner of the Savior, to prepare for the coming of the Savior. It won’t be long now and we will celebrate the fullness of A Recipe for a Savior.

Prayer: Dear Lord, You have prepared the way of the Savior by sending John as the great forerunner. Prepare our hearts through the working of the Spirit through the Word and Sacrament. Amen.

Deeper Thought: What is the most unusual thing that you have eaten in a meal? Were you ready for it or did it come as a surprise? What is the one thing that John would call you to repent over in your life? What is stopping you from going to the Lord for forgiveness?