The Toll of Living

This Sunday in the Catholic lectionary we meet one of my favorite characters in all of scripture – John the Baptist. He appears in the desert out of nowhere and preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Author John Shea talks about needing to be cleansed from the “toll of living,” and the appropriateness of the desert as the backdrop for this endeavor. The desert – a place of total quiet, solitude, where one has nothing to distract but oneself. -and what an interesting phrase – to think about one’s toll of living. What is the toll which has been assessed on my life for the compromises I make, for the pride which directs many of my comments and actions, for the greed which drives my desires? How am I misshapen by this toll? And what am I going to do about it? You see the toll is not the transgression – it is how the transgression forms me. Who have I become as a result of the daily decisions I make and the actions I take? And how far away from whom I want to be, am I really? That’s a good meditation as we make our way through the season of preparation.