Category Archives: John the Baptist

Thoughts on the Sunday readings: John the Baptist and Atticus Finch (3rd Sunday of Advent-B)

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Advent, Atticus Finch, Christ, John the Baptist, justice, truth

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The play, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a story about prejudice and the courage to do what is right.  In the play, Atticus Finch – a lawyer, agrees to defend a young black man (Tom Robinson) when he is unjustly accused of a crime he did not commit.  Racial bigotry is stirred up and Atticus and his family are persecuted for seeking justice for the young man.  Despite the persecution Atticus does fight for justice for Tom but by the end of the trial bigotry and the need to scapegoat win out and the young man is condemned for a crime he did not commit.  After this verdict as Atticus leaves the courtroom and passes his two children, a black minister who is aware of all the factors at play tells the girl and boy to stand because their father is passing, “a good and just man.”

Is not Atticus, in many ways, a figure of John the Baptist?  Atticus can be seen as a man proclaiming the truth even in the face of persecution, misunderstanding and ridicule.  Like John the Baptist, he proclaimed and held to the light even in the very midst of darkness.  Both men faced the same temptations – the temptation to remain quiet, to keep ones head down, to not make waves.  Both also faced the temptation to proclaim oneself.

Throughout the play, Atticus is a soft spoken, humble man even as others talk about all his achievements and abilities.  In his final speech in the courtroom Atticus does not proclaim his own skill as a lawyer nor his gift of rhetoric; rather, he proclaims and points to truth and justice for Tom Robinson.  It was a proclamation to those gathered in the courtroom just as pointed as the cry of the Baptist in the wilderness.

John the Baptist also faced this temptation to proclaim self.  The people were streaming toward John from all over the countryside, there was a deep yearning for the messiah – John knew this and he could have seized all that energy and power!  But he didn’t.  “I am not the Christ,” said John.  “I am the voice of one crying in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord … I am not worthy to untie his sandals.”

John the Baptist was able to do two things extremely well: he was able to look away from himself and he was able to look toward God.  In this he was able to recognize the truth of who he was – a man in need of a savior – and therefore he was able to recognize the true savior when he came (in contrast to the Pharisees).  “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, who sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” (John 1:27)

What John the Baptist and the figure of Atticus proclaim to us is that truth and justice do not lie inherently within ourselves as if they were our own possessions.  They are not part of our constitutional makeup that we can either summon or dispose of at will.  Rather, truth and justice are acquired by us only insofar as we place ourselves in relation to truth and justice itself – whom we proclaim to have a name and a face: Jesus.

As we place ourselves in relation to Christ, we both learn to see anew with eyes enlightened by faith (judging rightly) and our own dignity is found.  The words spoken by the black preacher to the children of Atticus might then be applied to any one of us, “Stand, your father (mother) is passing, a good and just man (woman).”  Whether victorious or not in the realm of worldly success and opinion; could there be any higher compliment?

Come, Lord Jesus and do not delay and, in all things, may we testify to the light! 

Thoughts on the Sunday readings: St. John the Baptist and True Worship (2nd Sunday of Advent – B)

07 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in God, John the Baptist, prepare the way of the Lord, worship

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Pope Francis (in a homily given at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on April 14, 2013), offered these words about true worship of God. 

     What does it mean, then, to worship God?  It means learning to be with him; it means that we stop trying to dialogue with him; and it means sensing that his presence is the truest, the most good, the most important thing of all.  All of us, in our own lives, consciously and perhaps sometimes unconsciously, have a very clear order of priority concerning the things we consider important.  Worshipping the Lord means giving him the place that he must have; worshipping the Lord means stating, believing – not only by our words – that he alone truly guides our lives.  Worshipping the Lord means that we are convinced before him that he is the only God, the God of our lives, the God of our history.
     This has a consequence in our lives: we have to empty ourselves of the many small or great idols that we have and in which we take refuge on which we often seek to base our security…
The words of Isaiah the prophet are given in regards to John the Baptist, “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.  A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”  John the Baptist, on the banks of the Jordan River and not in the resplendence of the Temple, is calling the people of Israel back to true worship of God.  John the Baptist, on this second Sunday of Advent, is calling us also to true worship of God. 
To prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight his paths means to clear out from our lives and our hearts all those many small and great idols that we carry and to which we cling in order to give the true and living God the priority which alone is God’s due.  To prepare the way of the Lord means, as Pope Francis says, “…learning to be with (God) … sensing that his presence is the truest, the most good, the most important thing of all.”
Sometimes true character is demonstrated by what one refuses even more so than by what one achieves.  Just as John proclaimed the coming of the Messiah he also proclaimed that he was not the one!  The gospel testifies that all the people of the Judean countryside were coming to John – they were all yearning for the Messiah, for a change.  John could have grabbed that desire and energy of the masses and claimed it for himself but he did not.  “One mightier than I is coming after me … I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 
The real test of worship is how it transforms lives, how it opens us up in humble awareness to the presence of God in our lives.  John had this awareness even, it seems, from those first months in his mother’s womb when he leapt for joy in the presence of the Messiah who, himself, was being carried in womb of the Virgin.  John in the desert, clothed in camel’s hair and a leather belt, witnessed true worship of God and this is what drew the people of Israel to him.  They recognized his authenticity.  John the Baptist lived in the presence and awareness of God.  He made straight the way of the Lord in his own life.  He invites us to do the same. 
Prepare the way of the Lord!  Make straight his paths!   Worshipping the Lord means giving him the place that he must have; worshipping the Lord means stating, believing – not only by our words – that he alone truly guides our lives.  Worshipping the Lord means that we are convinced before him that he is the only God, the God of our lives, the God of our history    

John the Baptist: Second Sunday of Advent (C)

08 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in homily, humility, John the Baptist, joy, poverty

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Icon of St. John the Baptist

The truth is that today the Word of God comes to us. 

We have two options: we can keep this Sunday’s gospel (Lk. 3:1-6) at a comfortable distance by thinking, “Oh, ‘in the reign of Tiberius Caesar‘ that is in the past.  Nice story.” or we can catch what Luke the evangelist is actually doing in his litany of specific names and titles.  For Luke the “word” is not some vague spiritual idea or inspiring myth.  No, the “word” is in fact a historical reality that “comes down” into the affairs of human nations and times and even into the stuff and routine of our daily lives.  The “word” chooses to be specific and to enter into particular times and places.  …the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.  

John welcomed the word in the desert we are told.  Again, we cannot be comfortable here.  The desert is not some far off place on another continent with an exotic sounding name.  Despite the noise and amusements we are, in fact, right in the middle of the desert of our times where life is not truly lived nor joy truly found.  Elsewhere in the scriptures we are told that Herod was hateful of John’s denunciations of his actions yet, at the same time, drawn to his words. John, I think, was such a compelling figure for the ruler precisely because he was able to do what Herod was not.  John recognized the desert of his time and because of that he was able to live his life not lost in an endless series of amusements but rather authentically and fully.  John truly lived his life and he truly knew joy.

How did he do this and how might we?  Three lessons for us: poverty, humility and hospitality.

John was a poor man and he accepted his poverty.  We know that materially John had nothing (wearing only a camel-skin and a belt) but even more so John accepted the poverty of letting go of the myth of self-sufficiency.  John, in the depth of very being made a soul-searching inventory, and accepted the truth of dependence upon God in both its bitterness and sweetness.  We are told that John survived on locust and wild honey.  Because of his poverty, John is free.  Herod is not free.

John knew the joy of humility.  He does not need the illusion of the “royal palace” in whatever shape it may come and he cautions and chastises those who cluster around the palaces of our world.  John, in contrast to the false pride of our world, would be very comfortable (I think) with the saying, “Christian, remember your dignity.”  The school of humility leads one away from false pride yet it also leads one back to true pride.  We are children of Abraham, we are sons and daughters of the Father and even as we are not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal (Jn. 1:27) we are abundantly and immensely loved by our Lord and Savior!  Humility overcomes false pride because humility leads one to put trust in the Lord and the Lord alone.  Humility leads to joy. 

When the “word” came to John he welcomed it.  God loves us too much to let us remain comfortable and content in the false illusions of the desert of our world.  One way or another God is coming to us.  The key is to not fear but to welcome, to be hospitable.  What a great thing it is to have God come to us and to seek entrance into our hearts.  When we welcome Christ into our hearts then Christ will make his dwelling there and make of our own hearts a place of welcome for others. 

This, I think, is the surest “proof” if something is from God or not.  Is our heart becoming a place of welcome and hospitality for others or not?  Through his poverty and humility John did not become severe and distant.  Rather, the opposite.  If one reads further in this third chapter of Luke (and it will be proclaimed next Sunday), John knew the struggle and hardships of people and when the people asked the prophet what they should do he responded by keeping it simple.  Be good people, seek to do what is right and just, care for one another and recognize the coming of the Kingdom of God.  John’s heart was anything but distant and cold. 

John’s heart was a place of welcome and hospitality because he, himself, had welcomed the Word of God.   

Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist: John’s birth

29 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in eternal life, hope, John the Baptist, resurrection

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August 29th is the feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. 

In its calendar of saints, the Church commemorates the day of death. This is done to acknowledge the day of the saint’s “birth” into eternal life – when the saint passes from this world of pilgrimage to the full life of eternity in Christ. This reminds us of our belief as Christians that death is not the end (Christ’s resurrection has conquered death) and also encourages us while we are on pilgrimage to keep our eyes fixed on the full horizon that we are called to and meant for by God and to live our lives accordingly and in hopeful expectation!

Below is the homily of St. Bede the Venerable for this day:  

As forerunner of our Lord’s birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture: “Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of immortality.” We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful celebration, a day which he himself made festive for us through his suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendour of his own blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on behalf of our Lord.

There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.

Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.

Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.

Since death was ever near at hand through the inescapable necessity of nature, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christ’s name. Hence the apostle Paul rightly says: “You have been granted the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake.” He tells us why it is Christ’s gift that his chosen ones should suffer for him: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.