Pointing to Jesus in humble witness and grateful service

Homily for Advent – 3^rd Sunday Year B 2014-2015

Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11; 1 Thess 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,19-28

Introduction

Nobody likes to play second fiddle to another; most of us like being in the limelight, being number one.  But in life, often only one person can be in the limelight, and the rest of us support that person.

At a wedding for example, it would be a pity if the guests confused the best-man for the bridegroom; it would be an even greater pity, if they confused one of the bridesmaids for the bride.  Thankfully, most brides go to great lengths to avoid that mistake, by ensuring that nobody else dresses like them, so I have heard.

Scripture and Theology

John the Baptist has no desire to be confused for the Christ.  When the Jews sent him messengers to ask if he was the Christ, the Messiah that was to come, he flatly denies it.  “I am not the Messiah,” he says, but “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord.’”  In other words, his job is to point to and prepare the way for the Messiah.

But why in the first place would the Jews confuse John the Baptist for the Messiah?

·        For starters, they had been waiting for a messiah for a really long time.  Already in Genesis, God promised that the Seed of Eve, that is the Messiah, would crush the evil that the snake had brought into the world.

·        Even at the time of Abraham, Moses and especially the Prophets, God promises to send a Messiah to free his people.  Isaiah in Chapter 9, for example, prophesies about a child being born to us, one who shall be called: “Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”

And so, John the Baptist seems to fit the bill.  He is eccentric, in fact, quite eccentric in his lifestyle, in his words and in his actions.

·        Like a homeless man, he lives in the desert, eats locusts and wild honey, and dresses in camel hair.

·        But his preaching is also strange.  He say that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and he asks people to prepare the ways of the Lord and to make straight his paths, that is to change their ways and return to the Lord.

·        Most of all he carries out this dramatic ritual, which had never been done before, of baptising people in the Jordan River, for the forgiveness of sins.

And so the Jews could be forgiven for thinking John was the messiah and asking him: “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”

But John the Baptist knows his role and is very comfortable with it.  He is comfortable with playing second fiddle to Jesus the Messiah.  He uses three examples to point away from himself towards the Messiah.

·        In Mark’s gospel (1:8) John says: “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit.”

·        And in John’s gospel (1:26-27) that we just read today the Baptist says: “there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

·        And later in John’s gospel (3:29-30), the Baptist uses the wedding image saying: “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.”  And then John concludes: “So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”

And so, John is content to baptize only with water, content to be the best man standing by the bridegroom, content to decrease so the Messiah might increase.

Christian Life

In this Advent season of watching and waiting for the Second Coming of the Lord, John the Baptist teaches us how to wait.  We cannot wait in idleness, but must wait by pointing others to the Messiah just like John the Baptist does.  And we do this in humility and gratitude.

Often we point others to Jesus without even having to say a word about the gospel, but just by living it.  After all, that is what Jesus told us to do: “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mt. 5:16).

·        We point to Jesus in our daily lives, in the routine things we do, such as taking the children to school or going to do Christmas shopping or just earning our daily bread.

·        We point to Jesus when people see in us the joy, peace and love that come from knowing Jesus and being in love with him.

Our witness to Jesus in this way does not require us to do anything spectacular or extraordinary; we kill two birds with one stone, just being good holy Christians and at the same time by that every action pointing to Jesus.

Of course we must also point others to Jesus by actively preaching the gospel to them, like John the Baptist did.  Deacons, priests and bishops have a primary role in these efforts, but indeed all of us Catholics are called to teach what Jesus taught.  Parents and grandparents especially are called to pass on God’s Word to their children.  And this can be difficult around Christmas time, when the whole family comes together, including those members who don’t practice the faith.  Many of us Catholics are conflicted about what to do.  Should I invite such members?  Should I go to their house?  Should I say grace before the Christmas dinner, when half my family doesn’t pray?  Should I invite them to come to Christmas Mass with me?

However we point others to Jesus, whether it is by our ordinary day to day witness or whether it is by actively teaching about the faith, we must do so in humility and in gratitude to God.

What we do is not really of our own making; our efforts are a gift from God.  Like John the Baptist, we should realize that is not about you or me and what you or me want; our efforts of witness and evangelization are about Jesus and what he wants.  We must do our work in bringing others to Christ or bringing Christ to them with humility and not with a sense of triumphalism.

And especially when we do a good job, there is a temptation to let that success go to our heads. John the Baptist certainly faced that temptation, given all the crowds that were coming to him.  By any standards, his work was successful.  As a priest, for example, people will come to you after Mass, and say, “good job Father.”  I should respond politely of course, saying, “Thanks be to God” who has enabled me to be a worthy mouthpiece for his message.  Perhaps as a parent, as a teacher, as a parishioner you do very well.  John the Baptist teaches us to steer the praise received away from us, since in truth we don’t do it all by ourselves, but steer it towards God, the source of all blessings.

Conclusion

Finally the only reason the Jews came to John the Baptist to ask if he was the Messiah was because in some way he looked like and behaved like the Messiah.

We too therefore have to be Christ-like in some way, Christ-like enough for people to make the connection between us and Christ.  For if we don’t resemble Jesus in some way, whether it is in our beliefs, worship or good deeds, how can we point others to him?  We must resemble Jesus enough to be confused for him and at the same we must point away from ourselves because as preachers and doers of the gospel, we are nothing but humble and grateful servants of the Lord, content and eager to play second fiddle to the Master.