Remember Michael Landon? Depending upon your age or your penchant for watching re-runs, you may recall his popular television series of the 1980s, Highway to Heaven. Landon played the role of an angel who was sent to earth to help people toward a better life. A few years later another show picked up the same theme with Della Rees in Touched by an Angel. Whether you were a Landon fan or a Reese fan, the concept did not begin with a TV producer or writer. Rather it began long before cable and even before rabbit ears. It began with the One who Landon referred to in Highway to Heaven as “The Boss,” the Lord God.

            We see one of the early episodes in today’s gospel. Instead of Michael Landon or Della Rees, the main person in the story is John the Baptist. There had been others, including Moses and the prophets who preceded John, but Matthew’s gospel focuses on John because he came so immediately in front of Jesus. He was to map out the final piece of road on the highway to heaven. His mission, as Isaiah had predicted it, was to prepare a road for the Lord.

Many present themselves

            There have been many before and since who claim to have the map. Some label themselves religious but their lack of spirituality makes them suspect. Some would-be celestial road builders offer specific rituals to be followed. Some say the map is in a specific

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