When I read today’s Gospel as I prepared for today’s homily, I thought about we have heard a lot about John the Baptist lately at Mass. On the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we heard John the Baptist crying out in the desert, telling us to repent, that the kingdom of God was at hand. Then, on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, John was in prison, sending his disciples to Jesus, asking if he was the one they were waiting for. Last Monday at Daily Mass, when we celebrated the feast of the Baptism of our Lord, we heard Matthew’s account of John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River. Today, in our Gospel, we again hear John the Baptist testifying as to Jesus’ identity.
Even though we’ve heard a lot from John the Baptist lately, even though John is the last of the great prophets of ancient Israel, we don’t know a lot of details about him. We might wonder how much contact Jesus had with John the Baptist when they were growing up. In recent years, many biblical scholars, including Pope Benedict XVI, have speculated about John the Baptist being a member of the monastic community of Essenes that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, since John’s message and lifestyle would have fit into that community. In that context, John’s behavior and style make a lot of sense.
The most important thing we learn about John the Baptist is that he is a witness to Jesus. He sees Jesus coming toward him and proclaims: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” a phrase we Catholics know so well because that is what the priest proclaims in the mass just before the Eucharist is distributed. John is a laser-focused witness. The Gospels tell us that John came to give testimony, that he himself was not the light, but that he came to testify to the light. In our world today, where many people want fame and fortune for themselves, where many want nothing more than time in the spotlight, John is comfortable with who he is and the mission he is to accomplish for God. John knows that he is not the center of attention, and he is ok with that.
So, as we hear about the witness John the Baptist gave to the world, how are we called to be witnesses to the light as we bring Christ’s Good News to the world? Perhaps our reading from the 1st letter to the Corinthians gives us some insight, as Paul tells us that we have been sanctified in Christ, that we are called to be holy as we call upon the name of our Lord. The link Paul is making is so important: it is only through our identity with Christ and our relationship with him that we will achieve the holiness to which we are called. It’s good to remember that Paul was writing to a faith community at Corinth that was torn apart by so many problems. The Corinthians were breaking up into factions, they were accused of immorality, and even when it came to celebrating the Eucharist as a community, they were doing so arrogantly and selfishly. Yet, Paul is still able to tell the Corinthians that they are sanctified by God, with God calling them to holiness. As a priest, I like to tell people that God meets us in the midst of the reality of life no matter how raw or messy that reality may be. We are called to see where God is in the reality of life and where he is calling us. We are called to respond to that call to holiness no matter what our reality.
In the context of our strengths and weaknesses, our personalities, and our gifts, God calls us to holiness, meeting us where we are at. I remember an inmate in the state prison in Pearl asking me about St. Francis of Assisi, wondering if he was the one who said to preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, to use words. I affirmed that this indeed was St Francis. This young inmate said that he really liked that quote, that God often spoke to him not in words, but by the example and actions of others.
We can see so many ways people live out this holiness in their lives in different shapes and forms. I was once visiting a patient in St. Dominic Hospital when an orderly came to wheel him out for a test. The orderly could have approached this as just a mundane, menial job, as just a way to make money, but I saw his kindness and his compassion to the patient and his family. When the orderly left the room, the family remarked to me how his different interactions with them really made a difference to them in this difficult time in the hospital. In a way, I saw this orderly doing ministry, ministering to the people as much as I was doing so as a priest. Many of the ordinary moments of our lives are indeed opportunities for ministry for us.
How is God calling us to be witnesses to Christ in our world today? Just as John the Baptist pointed others to Christ, just as he came to give testimony, we are called to be witnesses in our own way, in the reality of our own lives, in the way that God is calling us.
