John the Baptist: A Guide in the Wilderness

Over my desk I have several icons.  I switch some of them out a couple of times a year, but one that always stays in the same place is a copy I painted of an icon of John the Baptist, the original of which dates from around 1300 AD and is in the British Museum. It is small, less than a foot high, but the image is intense.  John looks straight at the viewer. With his hair disheveled he wears a reddish-orange tunic and a greenish-blue cloak. His left hand holds a scroll while his right hand is raised in blessing.

John the Baptist is portrayed in Eastern iconography as being emaciated and wearing ragged clothing, reflecting the description of him in the gospels. John is portrayed with wild hair--quite a contrast to Jesus, who is always portrayed with every hair in place. Depending on the inclination of the artist, John's rumpled clothing can be quite striking. One icon shows John wearing an outer garment that can only be described as a blue tablecloth that has unraveled quite a bit at the edges.

 I have painted a number of icons of John, the originals dating from 600 to 1500 AD. He is one of my favorite characters in the New Testament. I find it unfortunate that in the church year John is relegated to the beginning of Lent and Advent. We don't see him during the rest of the year. He appears sporadically in the gospels--in Mark and John he is at the very beginning, preparing the way for Jesus. In Matthew  he appears after the Christmas story, and in Luke his birth precedes the birth of Jesus. With all the differences among the four gospels John appears at the beginning of Jesus' ministry to baptize him, although the gospels vary on the details. John appears again when he condemns King Herod for marrying his brother's wife, and Herod imprisons him. As we all know, John meets his end when Salome asks Herod for the head of John the Baptist in return for an exotic dance.

Jesus had a strong connection to John. It is quite possible that Jesus was a disciple of John before he went out on his own. Several times in the gospels Jesus compares John to the prophet Elijah, a comparison the gospel writers take into account when describing John's appearance.

 In Orthodox Christianity John is called the "Forerunner" instead of "the Baptist" because he comes before Jesus and prepares for his coming. In an Orthodox deesis, or row of icons of Jesus and apostles and saints, John occupies the spot to Jesus' left, while Mary is on the right. They are closest to Jesus because they were the first to recognize him for who he was.

John's icon in my office, and the other icons of him I have painted, remind me of God's presence in the wilderness, whatever the wilderness may be. John is a good guide for the wilderness-- he knew it well. I'd recommend John as a companion in the wilderness. He wasn't much to look at, but he knew his way around the neighborhood.