Both readings mention Elijah, one of the great prophets of the Hebrew Testament (Old Testament). "He arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch". He did great wonders in his time as an instrument of God's power and humiliating the idolatrous elements who were leading the Israelites astray. He did not die a natural death but "was taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses". Because of that, it was expected that some day he would return to die a natural death and his coming was believed to precede the coming of the Messiah.

So, the disciples, who had previously acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, wondered if Elijah had already come. Jesus said that he had but that people had not recognised him. On the contrary, they had treated him badly - as they would do to the Messiah himself in due course. The disciples then realised Jesus was speaking about John the Baptist, the prophet who had come to proclaim the imminent coming of the Messiah.

The season of Advent emphasises the role of John the Baptist and, in a way, it is the role each one of us is called on to play. Each one of us, individually and as a community, has the responsibility to make known the presence and call of Jesus in our world today. Each one of us, like John, is called to be a Precursor, a Forerunner of Jesus in the world. Otherwise, how will people come to know him?