He said: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
'Make straight the way of the Lord.'" (John 1:23)

This Gospel passage is particularly profound because of the messenger. Remember, John the Baptist lived in the wilderness and looks like it, probably smells like it. He is not refined, but God is using him to testify that Jesus is God. So naturally, the approach of the religious elite is to question John the Baptist's authority and gauge his ambition.

A friend once told me that the marginalized have the most informed view of the world. That should not be a surprise because throughout the Bible God uses imperfect figures, those on the outskirts of society, to deliver messages or otherwise reveal God's work. And yet, it is human to find ourselves dismissing people whom we don't view as legitimate....