All four Gospels give an account of John the Baptist as a prophet and preacher whose ministry created expectation and awakened a wave of repentance leading to baptism among many different groups of people. Two Sundays in Advent focus on that preaching and the First Sunday after the Epiphany celebrates Jesus’ baptism by John as a central moment where the fullness of Christ’s humanity and divinity are revealed. In Mark’s Gospel, John’s arrest is th…