Feast of John the Baptist

JOHN THE BAPTIST
THE CHURCH CELEBRATES THE BIRTH OF THREE PEOPLE, OUT OF ALL THE SAINTS AND APOSTLES. THESE WERE JESUS, MARY, AND JOHN THE BAPTIST. WE CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND JESUS AND MARY, BUT WHY JOHN THE BAPTIST? AND WHY IS THAT BIRTH CELEBRATED AT ALMOST THE EXACT TIME THAT THE DAYS BEGIN TO GET SHORTER?
JESUS AND MARY AND JOHN HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON. ALL WERE BORN WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN. JESUS BECAUSE HE WAS GOD, AND GOD CAN HAVE NO PART OF SIN; MARY, BECAUSE FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION THE SAVING GRACES OF JESUS WERE APPLIED, AND SHE WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN; AND JOHN, WHOM THE CHURCH TEACHES WAS CLEANSED FROM ORIGINAL SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB. THE NAME JOHN IN HEBREW MEANS “FAVORED OF GOD” -- NOT TOO DIFFERENT FROM THE GREETING OF THE ANGEL TO MARY AT THE ANNUNCIATION.
JESUS ONCE REFERRED TO JOHN AS THE GREATEST MAN EVER BORN OF WOMAN UP TO THAT TIME. HIS FATHER, INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAID THAT HE WOULD BE THE PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JOHN, REMEMBER THAT HE LEAPED IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB WHEN MARY, PREGNANT WITH JESUS, CAME TO VISIT ELIZABETH. WE REMEMBER THAT JOHN CAME OUT OF THE DESERT WEARING CAMEL'S HAIR AND EATING LOCUSTS AND HONEY; WE REMEMBER THAT HE WAS A FIERY, AND PERHAPS VERY TROUBLING PREACHER, WHO WAS NEVER AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH – AND IN FACT, THAT IS WHY HE WAS PUT TO DEATH – BECAUSE HE CONDEMNED HEROD FOR MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIFE. JOHN SEEMS TO BE A DISTANT, COLD, ECCENTRIC FIGURE, AND HE SEEMS HARD TO LOVE, HARD TO RELATE TO.
SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS JOHN THE BAPTIST, WHOM THE CHURCH DIRECTS US TO HONOR TODAY, TO THE POINT WHERE HIS FEAST SUPERSEDES THE REGULAR SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME THAT WE WOULD NORMALLY CELEBRATE TODAY?
MAYBE OUR IMPRESSION OF JOHN IS NOT ACCURATE. AFTER ALL, HE HAD NO TROUBLE ATTRACTING FOLLOWERS. SEVERAL OF THE APOSTLES WHO FOLLOWED JESUS HAD ORIGINALLY FOLLOWED JOHN, ANDREW AMONG THEM. IN THE DAYS OF THE EARLY CHURCH, WE SEE THE APOSTLES LIKE PAUL WHO WERE OUT ON MISSION, RUNNING ACROSS PEOPLE WHO WERE FOLLOWERS OF JOHN, WHO HAD BEEN BAPTIZED BY JOHN, BUT DID NOT KNOW THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. THE SCRIPTURES TELL US THAT EVEN THOUGH JOHN TOLD HEROD THAT HE WAS LIVING IN SIN TO HAVE MARRIED HIS BROTHER'S WIFE, HEROD LIKED TO LISTEN TO JOHN. JOHN MUST HAVE BEEN A VERY CHARISMATIC FIGURE WHO CHANGED THE HEARTS OF MANY PEOPLE, WHO REKINDLED THEIR DESIRE TO SERVE GOD. AND HUMANLY SPEAKING, JOHN PREPARED THE SOIL FOR JESUS; PEOPLE WHO LISTENED TO JOHN, WHO REFORMED THEIR LIVES ACCORDING TO JOHN'S PROPHETIC PREACHING, WERE READY FOR JESUS.
MARY WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE JESUS A BODY, AND WHO FORMED HIS MIND AND CONSCIENCE AFTER HE WAS BORN. JOHN WAS THE ONE WHO PREPARED A PORTION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO BECOME THE CHURCH IN RESPONSE TO JESUS' ACTION. THE CHURCH HAS NEVER FORGOTTEN.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE THINK ABOUT ON THIS FEAST OF THE GREATEST OF MEN BORN OF WOMEN UP UNTIL THE TIME OF JESUS?
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS PREACHING – HE PREACHED THAT WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR LIVES, WE SHOULD REPENT OF OUR SINS, IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD. I ALWAYS LIKED THE PASSAGE WHERE THE TAX COLLECTORS ASKED HIM, “WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?” AND HE DID NOT SAY, “GO AND LIVE IN THE DESERT” OR “GIVE UP EVERYTHING” -- HE SAID, TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO. AND WHEN THE SOLDIERS ASKED THE SAME QUESTION, HE SAID, “BE CONTENT WITH YOUR SALARY, AND DO NOT EXTORT PEOPLE”. JOHN DID NOT DEMAND THAT HIS FOLLOWERS BE SPIRITUAL ATHLETES; HE MERELY CALLED THEM TO LIVE THEIR STATES OF LIFE AS WELL AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD. THAT IS REPENTANCE, THAT IS A CHANGE OF HEART.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS OBEDIENCE – WHEN JESUS CAME DOWN TO BE BAPTIZED, JOHN SAID, “YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE BAPTIZING ME”. AND JESUS COMMANDED HIM TO BAPTIZE HIM ANYWAY.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT JOHN SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES WHEN JESUS PASSED BY – BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD” AND “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” JOHN KNEW HIS ROLE IN RELATIONSHIP TO GOD; HE WAS SECONDARY, HE WAS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE; HE WAS A SERVANT, HIS LIFE MEANT NOTHING UNLESS HE DID GOD'S WILL.
AND WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN WAS NOT AFRAID OF SPEAKING THE TRUTH, EVEN TO SOMEONE WHO HAD THE POWER TO TAKE HIS LIFE. IF JOHN LIVED TODAY, ITS HARD TO BELIEVE HE WOULD BE SILENT, LIKE WE CATHOLICS ARE, WHEN OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES PROMOTE HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE AND ABORTION, AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO GO WITHOUT HEALTH CARE AND THE BASIC NECESSITIES OF LIFE IN THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT MIGHT BE THAT JOHN WOULD BE CRITICIZING US CATHOLICS MORE THAN THE WORLD AT LARGE, BECAUSE WE KNOW BETTER; WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CHANGING THE WORLD FOR JESUS.
AND PERHAPS WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN, ESPECIALLY FAVORED BY GOD, CLEANSED FROM SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB, DESTINED FOR ALL ETERNITY TO PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN SALVATION HISTORY, IN THE END WAS LOCKED IN JAIL AND HAD HIS HEAD CHOPPED OFF. AND JESUS DIED ON A CROSS, AND MARY SAW HER ONLY SON PUT TO DEATH, AND MOST OF THE APOSTLES WERE EXECUTED, AND OUR ANCESTORS IN THE EARLY CHURCH FREQUENTLY DIED BY BEING BURNED, OR CRUCIFIED, OR THROWN TO THE LIONS. BEING A FAVORED ONE OF GOD IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING A FAVORED ONE IN THE WORLD. IN FACT, SOMETIMES I THINK THAT WHEN WE ARE NOT BEING PERSECUTED, WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE A CROSS TO CARRY, MAYBE THAT IS A SIGN THAT WE ARE NOT ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
JOHN'S BIRTHDAY IS JUST AFTER THE SUMMER SOLSTICE. THAT MEANS THAT FROM NOW ON THERE IS LESS LIGHT EACH DAY, UNTIL CHRISTMAS, WHEN THE DAYLIGHT BEGINS TO INCREASE ONCE AGAIN. JOHN IS THE LAST OF THE GREAT PROPHETS, AND HE ENDS THAT AGE AS HE PREPARES THE WAY FOR JESUS, WHO ENLIGHTENS THE WORLD WITH NEW LIGHT.
LET US PRAY TODAY TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST TO WORK AMONG US AND ONCE AGAIN PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.