Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Acts 13: 22-26
When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’ Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.” “My brothers, you descendants of Abraham’s family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Preparing the Way
People are wandering, searching. They need someone to show the way and make it less rocky, someone to welcome them, to offer an initial, cleansing baptism, to help them soften their hearts – all in preparation for meeting Jesus and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
This is John the Baptist’s example for us. John is the one who recognized Jesus as savior and pointed him out to others: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” There are many missions, but are any greater than that?
John built his ministry and achieved renown, but only to prepare the way for Jesus. Before the fruit of his efforts could be known, he was executed on Herod’s whim. We might feel futility. John the Baptist kept his focus on the “one [who] is coming after me.”
In this ego-driven world, John the Baptist gives us a simple, contrary prayer: “He must increase; I must decrease.” (Jn:3:30)
—Allain Andry is the Charlotte regional coordinator for Contemplative Leaders in Action, an Ignatian spirituality and leadership program for young adults that is a program of the Office of Ignatian Spirituality. He is also a spiritual director at St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC, the Jesuit parish in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Prayer
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the Lord,
my recompense is with my God.
—Isaiah 49:4