JN 1:6-8, 19-28
“Who are you?” priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem asked John the Baptist. Who was this weird guy wearing strange clothes, eating a strange diet, hanging out at the river? Many people seemed attracted to him, hearing something in his words that, perhaps, offered them a message of hope. But… was he to be trusted? Perhaps he was just another one trying to organize opposition against the Romans.
As I listen to John today, I am in awe. He knew who he was not, but he also knew who he was! “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord…’” To know that, he must have been able to recognize the one whose arrival he was preparing. Wow! At that point, he had not really met Christ, he had not seen the heaven open nor heard the voice introducing the Beloved Son after the baptism. John probably knew his cousin, Jesus, but how did he know Jesus was the ONE?
A perceptive heart, an open soul, a listening attitude and willingness to live out his call to the fullest - this is what I see when I think of John the Baptist.
As we celebrate Gaudete Sunday – the 3rd Sunday of Advent, we rejoice, because we know Christmas is near. How will we prepare the way for Jesus this week, what one thing can I do to help others recognize the Holy around me?
Sister Angela Szczawinska, CSFN
