John the Baptist said that his role was to make straight the way for the Lord, the coming of the Messiah. The way he accomplished this was through preaching repentance, and when people repented, he baptized them with water. But, he said someone was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. So, this means that the best way for us to prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to repent. How do we repent? We are called to repent not only of our behavior but the sin beneath the sins, like our self-indulgences (such as self-pity, self-centeredness, sloth, pride, dishonesty) and our idolatry. As we do that, we need to be aware that sometimes our attempt to protect our self-esteem could stop us from fully repenting.

But, the gospel is not just about repenting. It is about the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the first-born Passover Lamb who was slain for our sins. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb that was the substitute for our sins. As we behold the Lamb, he baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. We enter into the presence of God, dance with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and are soaked with the Holy Spirit. This filling of the Spirit gives us power, gives us gifts of the Spirit, produces the fruit of the Spirit, and helps us stand on the identity that we are embraced and loved by God. This is how we become confident and free as John was.