Readings: Isaiah
54:1-10
Luke 7:18-23 or 7:24-30
"I tell you, among those born of women,
no one is greater than John. “
This year's cycle B has the version of Luke for
its gospel. Since December 16 usually falls on any of the days of the third
week of Advent, we are then invited to meditate on the person and message of
the great John the Baptist.
1. St. John is quite a familiar name. And of
course, we remember him very well on June 24, when almost everybody goes to the
beach. But do we really know the Baptist? If we do, how far? It is, then, quite
important and imperative to know John the Baptist, for even Jesus himself would
remind us that "among those born of women, no one is greater than
John.” By this alone, we are hinted
that John in person must be remarkable and John in role must be special. Among
others, the Bible describes the Baptist as:
a. A Prophet. A prophet is he who is
specially called by God in order to speak in his behalf. A prophet, then, is
God's spokesperson; he us mouth piece of God. Thus, he is to speak not
his own message, but God’s, no more and no less.
Although John himself denies the role of the
prophet, by all biblical indications we know
that he is. Even the people of his time takes him as a prophet and he seems to
be conscious of it. Jesus himself is quoted to have called John a prophet: “Then,
what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes I tell you, and more than a
prophet.” Indeed he is a prophet, and a great prophet at that. And his
greatness consists in that singular role he has in our salvation history. John
is that unique bridge, which unites the two great Testaments: Old and New. And
by this solitary role, we can safely propose that John is the last prophet of
the Old Testament and the first prophet of the New Testament.
b. A Witness. John the Evangelist calls the
Baptist a witness, one who comes to testify: "A man named John
was sent by God. He came to bear witness, to testify to the light, so that all
might believe through him" (Jn 1:6-7). This light of course is Christ;
and John comes to be a witness to Christ. Thus, everything the Baptist says and
does always refers to Christ. He testifies that Christ who shall come after him
is even ahead of him; and he testifies to this truth because he himself saw the
Holy Spirit rest upon Christ (Jn 1:32). His being a witness, therefore, makes
him the herald or the forerunner of the One who is to come. And not only that. John takes upon himself the fullest sense of
being a witness by being a martyr. For after all, to be a martyr is the
ultimate meaning of being a witness.
2. But John's greatness consists not only in his
calling but also the very response he shows to it. All of his life, he
tried to be deserving of God's favor First,
although he knew fairly well that he was God’s choice, he did not ask for a
life deserving of a singular character. Rather, he led a simple and austere
life spending most of his preparatory years
in solitude He survived with locusts and wild honey, and clothed himself with a
camel's hair. Second, when the time for his
public ministry as a prophet finally came,
he came out too from the wilderness really as a voice crying out the message he
ought to bring. Thus, his ministry is marked by his bold and uncompromising
pronouncements. Even the powers-that-be of his time would be rocked by his
proclamations a
condemnations. This is precisely why he received the prophet's reward: the
crown of martyrdom. Third, John knew his own limits and never went beyond them.
He was always aware that he was only a voice and was not the "real
one."
We must remember that by the time Christ came,
John was already at the height of his popularity. Had he made a mischievous
curb and told the people that he was the messiah, the course of events would
have surely turned out differently. And, humanly: speaking, Jesus would be out
of the scene. But no. John was honest and faithful. He stuck to who he was and
what his role would simply be: a voice tasked only to prepare the way. He was
humble enough to take a very low posture even at his immense and unstoppable
popularity He even sees himself unworthy even to untie the strap of the
Messiah's sandals. Thus, when the hour
finally came for him to fade away, he would only say with pride and joy"
He must increase while I must decrease “ (Jn 3:30).