READ: (Isa 49: 1-6; Acts 13: 22-26; Lk 1: 57-66, 80)

REFLECT: Be simple, humble and sincere like St. John the Baptist, the precursor …

My dear friends, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. We all of us know that there are only three birthdays the Catholic Church commemorates according to the liturgical calendar. They are; the Birthday of Jesus our Lord and Saviour on Christmas day, the birthday of Mother Mary on 8th September and the birthday of St. John the Baptist the forerunner and preparers of Jesus’ ways on 24th June. The birthdays of these three are celebrated in order to signify their unique and distinctive role as planned and prepared by God.

Solemnity is the first grade of degree in the liturgical celebration that Catholic Church commemorates. The saints are just remembered with feast days on their death anniversaries, but St. John the Baptist is honored with solemnity to recall both his birth and death. He was set apart specifically to prepare the way of the Lord and contributed largely in connection with Jesus’ incarnation, mission and redemption. Thereby, the Catholic Church attributes his due reward in commemorating the birthday of St. John the Baptist. 

The life and ministry of St. John the Baptist is quite inspiring and motivating. He was born to Zechariah, a temple priest in order of Abijah and Elizabeth, the relative of Mary our Mother, an elderly couple, advanced in age, who thought they could never have child because of the barrenness of Elizabeth. But God has his own plans and gives them the gift of a Child, John the Baptist. He lived as a hermit in the desert of Judea, eating locust and honey as daily food. He engaged in preaching the Word of God at the banks of river Jordan, calling them to repentance and giving them baptism to meet the Lord Jesus who was to come into the world. He directed the apostles Andrew and John to Jesus to follow and be part of God’s expansion of mission. John continued to preach after Jesus was baptized, but was put in prison by Herod Antipas, after he questioned the immoral life of the king with Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Philip. He had to face death for his moral courage and stand and justice, being beheaded at the request of Salome, daughter of Herodias. And so he died as a martyr witnessing to the truth and righteousness of God. The martyrdom is celebrated by the Church as a memorial on 29th August.

St. John the Baptist remains a model of inspiration to all even today for the courage that he had, humility that he showed and to the truth of God, which he stood firm for always. So based on the liturgy of the day and the word of God, I would like to share with you three points of reflections;

1.    Simplicity of Life:

Simplicity of life means appreciating and accepting the things that we have without any hustle or bustle. It does not seek for more material or financial but what is required and the minimum to run the race of life. Some of us have a strange idea that living a simple life means living an impoverished one, but in reality accepting the life as it flows is to dignify and value the life that we have received from God as a gift. Perhaps, many in the history of life who have lived a simple life and left their legacy of life as a role model to live. I am sure St. John the Baptist was one such person who lived a life of simplicity accepting himself and the life he obtained, the mission he was entrusted and the way of life as he lived. 

Although appearance of John the Baptist was stern and strict yet he lived a simple living in clothing, food and shelter. We hear that “John appeared in the desert (Matt 3:1), had a leather garment around his waist and wore a cloak of camel’s hair, his food was locust and wild honey,” (Matt 3: 4; Mk 1: 6). Such was the simplicity of life accepting what he was given and asked of God the Father to do. Today although there are many people who are poor in various ways yet try to look for recognition and honor in ways that one dresses, eats and lives. It is because for some of us honor is more important than honesty. We need to realize that the moment we live honestly and work for honesty, the honor automatically we shall obtain. Today we still remember and honor John the Baptist because he lived simple life without expecting anything in return from anyone. So let us be simple in our approach, attitude to enhance the living comfortably and happily.

2.    Model of humility:

Someone has very beautifully written, “Humility is the absence of pride and the ability to be down-to-earth and modest under all circumstances. Humility is exhibited by respectful behavior towards others. A humble person doesn’t think they are superior to others and is devoid of arrogance and self-praise.” Yes, humility is accepting others as they are and accepting oneself with strengths and weaknesses, without disrespecting others and oneself. The humble person does not boast of the talents and super-natural qualities that one has but uses it for the greater glory of God and for the benefit of all. That’s what we see in the second reading from the Acts of the Apostles too that St. Paul brings before us the humility of John the Baptist that he openly declared that he was not the Christ and was not worthy to untie the dust of Jesus’ sandals.

That’s what we see in the life of St. John the Baptist. He acknowledged himself as an instrument of God in the mission he was entrusted as a precursor and accepted Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. He never boasted of the power with which he preached and drew people to God. He firmly believed that all his works were done by God for God’s greater glory. The famous phrase of St. John the Baptist, “I must decrease and Christ must increase (Jn 3: 30) overwhelms us. This short but a single phrase imparts the great virtue of humility that John had in the service of God. Perhaps he forgot himself and lived for Jesus. ‘I’ did not exist for him rather ‘God’ or ‘Christ’ existed for him the most. He humbled himself before Jesus so much that he even declared that “I am not worthy to untie the thongs of Jesus’ sandals,” (Lk 3: 16). Such was the commitment and conviction of life that John the Baptist lived.  

Today all of us as human beings want to be appreciated and acknowledged before others. It is not wrong in itself but when it becomes excessive, deviates the focus and damages the personality. But John the Baptist understood that when one humbles before God and God’s work, he would be exalted by God. So perhaps what could solve our problems and conflicts in life is an act of humility. Humility gives us peace of mind and serenity of heart to others and ourselves. For such a peaceful rule of life, we need to understand the true virtue of humility. If we understand humility as humiliation although it does at times, we would not obtain peace. But if we understand that humility is accepting others as they are and accepting ourselves as we are with vulnerability and strengths, I am sure we shall obtain peace in life.

3.    Model of sincerity:

Sincerity is the virtue, where one communicates and acts according to their feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and desires in a way that is honest and genuine. We all of us agree that sincerity is an essential element to life and it is costly at times that one may have to experience insults and hardship for what one is. Although many look at sincere and true person with an eye of contempt and fear yet they are welcomed and respected for the person and the personality that they display without any bias and favoritism towards others. The sincere or genuine person reflects who he or she is. There is no possibility of pretence and falsity. He or she acts justly and genuinely with truthful mind, friendly attitude and real personality.

When we look at the life of St. John the Baptist, we come to know that he was sincere to the task he was entrusted by God, with himself and with others as well. He provided a model of heroic holiness and sincerity. He condemned the pretence, hypocrisy and immorality, calling everyone to repent and obtain the god’s offer of forgiveness. He challenged everyone who hindered God’s offer of salvation be it greediness or materialistic outlook and insincere standard of life. Therefore, we find the sincerity of his life in all arenas.

St. John the Baptist was sincere to the message that God wanted him to convey to people saying, “Change your ways, the kingdom of God is at hand,” (Matt 3: 2; Mk 1:4; Lk 3:3). He dared to question who were immorally wrong. That’s what we hear, “For John reproached Herod, for living with Herodias, his brother’s wife and for his evil deeds,” (Lk 3:19). He questioned any one dared to challenge the mission of God, he never spared them. We have him challenging and calling the Pharisees and Sadducees as ‘brood of vipers’ (Matt: 3:7; Lk 3:7), for being indifferent to the message of God preached to them. He showed sincerity in accepting Jesus as Messiah and son of God saying, “The one coming after me is more powerful than I am,” (Matt 3:11), “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit,” Mk 1: 7-8; Lk 3:16). His sincerity in directing the disciples Andrew and Simon Peter that Jesus is the Lamb of God (Jn 1: 35-36).

We all know from the Scripture that wherever John went, he was surrounded by huge crowds and followers. He never took advantage or as an opportune time to deceive people, rather he genuinely revealed that he wasn’t who they thought he was. Even when Jews sent priest and Levites to find who john was whether he was the messiah or the prophet or Elijah, John declares “he was not the messiah,” (Jn 1: 20) He declares Jesus as the lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, acknowledges that jesus is already ahead of him and Jesus existed before John (Jn 1: 29-30), Jesus as the chosen one of God (Jn 1: 34). In Jn 3:28 we hear John the Baptist saying, “I am not the Christ but I have been sent before him.”

Yes, throughout the life of St. John the Baptist the virtue of sincerity runs through like the blood that runs through every part of the body. His sincerity needs no explanation because he was martyred as a result of sincerity to God and God’s work. All that mattered to him was to announce the coming of the Kingdom, prepare everyone to meet Christ by bringing them to a renewal of life through baptism and repentance. For such a sincerity of life St. John the Baptist trusted and in God and did God’s will. He could do all this because the hand of the Lord was with him as the Gospel reading of the day mentions it. Without the hand of God he would not have grown strong in spirit and in proclamation. Therefore, St. John the Baptist gives all credit to God, who called him for a specific mission. While the people wondered what this child would be, perhaps both Zechariah and Elizabeth believed in God’s ways and works. Today we need to realize that if the hand of God is with us, we will be able to handle any ministry that God entrusts us or any hardship in life we may be able to overcome.

Today, John’s life challenges us to the fundamental attitude of Christianity that is total dependence on God, working for his glory and manifest Christ to everyone. Although John the Baptist lived an austere life, what attracted most were his holiness, moral courage, sincerity and powerful proclamation of God’s word. So in order to be one such person in today’s scenario, we need to trust God and do his will. When we take such a stand and work for God’s glory, we can be sure that God would support us and give us the courage to face any sorts of affliction and suffering, even if that be death by martyrdom. May we obtain such platform to build our lives in total dependence on God and direction by God.

Just to conclude, it was on the feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, on 24th of June 2020 pope Francis very beautifully shared that “we need learn from him who was the forerunner of Jesus the ability to bear witness to the Gospel with courage, beyond our own differences, while preserving the harmony and friendship that form the basis of any credible proclamation of the faith.” Yes, let this be our effort to witness the Good news of God with courage, trust and humility in our lives.

RESPOND:

Do we live our lives in simplicity without any complications by accepting everyone as who we are?

Do we humble ourselves to get rid of rivalries and conflicts to build the kingdom of God?

Do we stand for truth and sincerity by trusting in God and doing his will in our lives?

Let us live our lives in simplicity without much expectation, humble ourselves to build the kingdom of God and stand for truth by trusting in divine will and providence. Amen.

God bless us all! Happy Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist!

Live Jesus

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

9500930968