Tuesday, June 21, 2011

To Prepare the Way for the Lord

When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.  Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.  He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”  Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.  All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.  Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him. (Luke 1:57-66)


This June 24th, six months before Christmas eve, we are celebrating the birth of John the Baptist with a solemn feast.  In the Church's calendar, only the birth of Jesus and John the Baptist are celebrated as solemnities.  Our Lady's birth of course on September 8 is a feast.  This degree of celebration explains the greatness of John.

As of the moment, we can hear his voice, "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make straight his paths!" (Luke 2:4) We are reminded that Christ is soon to come not anymore as a child but as a King whose kingdom is already here before us.   “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.  (John 1: 6-8)  The role of John is great in the ministry of Jesus.  He prepared God's chosen people Israel through preaching, baptism but most importantly through the example of his life.  His preaching is the way to lead Israel to hope for the coming of the Messiah and his baptism is a symbol of repentance for Israel in order for them to be properly disposed for his coming.  And this baptism is also the foretaste of the True Baptism that Jesus will later give--- the Baptism of water and the Holy Spirit  (John 3:3-8)

John is the voice and the Word is Christ. The voice is an instrument for the Word to be heard and to be understood. The voice fades but the Word remains.  For example, I tell you something. After a second, I stopped talking and you cannot hear my voice anymore but it served its purpose for you understood what I have said.  John may be likened to this blog entry.  You may close this website but the meaning that I am trying to impart remains in your memory. 



John says “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:27-30) John's life is actually an evangelization. His preaching is just but a confirmation of what his life is.  He never treats himself as great.  He never accepts praise from people but he always points to Christ.  He never minds Andrew and his other disciples change of allegiance after he points to them the Lamb of God.  Once he saw Jesus and proclaims him as the Lamb, Jesus never thanked him but just took his disciples. When a lot of his disciples turn from him and followed Christ, he even considers it as his complete joy.  And when he was imprisoned, he never complained if Christ and his apostles never showed him any signs of gratitude.  He never complained if he was not even visited in prison. He does not mind if Christ left his precursor lowly and despised. 

As we can see, Jesus did not call John to follow him.  Why? Because he understand his role and his mission.  He knows that if he became Christ's disciple, he may interfere with the mission of the Messiah. He does not want to hinder Christ's popularity among the people that is why he just allowed himself to be set aside.

The life of John the Baptist maybe find its parallelism in our lives.  We might feel that as time goes by, we lose our prestige in our family or in the group.  We might feel unappreciated even if we have done numerous great deeds.  We might see that we are unacknowledged or set aside.  But, let see the life of John and then  see ours and ask ourselves: Are we doing this things really out of service and generosity or out of prestige and honor?  Are we narcissistic like the Pharisees who seek just rewards from God or humble like John who treats himself as just God's mere instrument?

I do not say that we should avoid praises and acknowledgment from our good deeds.  But I am just saying that if in case we do not receive them, it is a call to be humble.  And to be humble as we can learn from the life of John is to prepare the way for Christ.  It is painful not be loved or to be set aside.  But it is God's way to strip us of our narcissistic attitude and be pure and ready to meet him.  "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (Proverbs 3:34, 1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6) 

 "True humility" is distinctly different from "false humility," which consists of deprecating one's own sanctity, gifts, talents, and accomplishments for the sake of receiving praise from others.  It is actually foolishness to think and boast of yourself as humble then you began to despise others because they are proud.  True humility is an attitude of recognizing your littleness before God and what you are is not what you did but it is God's free gift. So, humility is knowing that if you are humble because God has given you the grace to be so.  And it is just your duty to be that way.

True humility is a preparation to meet Christ. Not only to prepare ourselves for his coming in the last day but most especially to prepare for his encounter in our daily lives.  Are our hearts really prepared?  Maybe it is the reason why we haven't experienced Christ's coming and  his transforming power in our lives.


Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart,  Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,  Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.





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