Traditionally, the second Sunday in Advent brings us face to face with the forerunner, John the Baptist. But John does not stand alone. He stands knee deep in history, and history is a part of the world Christ came to redeem.

Let us look at the gospel lesson (Luke 3:1-6) before we turn to the Old Testament. It begins in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. So who was Tiberius? He was born of noble parents, who then were divorced so that his mother could marry the emperor, Caesar Augustus. Tiberius had a fight with his stepfather and was promptly banished. He was married in exile, but then made up with his stepfather, Caesar. It was then decided that Tiberius would marry Caesar's daughter, Julia, so he divorced his wife. Julia did a lot of running around, so Tiberius banished her. Their…