HEAR OUR PRAYERS AND
KEEP US IN YOUR CARE
KEEP US IN YOUR CARE
John the Baptist indicates to us one important aspect of our
Christian vocation. We should help to focus a light on Jesus Christ Who takes
delight in us!
Listen
again to a key passage from chapter five of today's first reading: "We
know we belong to God... We also know that the Son of God has come and has
given us discernment to know the One Who is true, in His Son, Jesus Christ. He
is the true God and eternal life" (1 Jn 5:19a, 20)! We belong to God and
we are confident that He will look out for us and give us what we need. As God
provides us with the grace to carry out the Gospel of love, we truly live by
the two greatest commandments also known as the twin commandments: the love of
God and the love of neighbor. This is our purpose.
In
today's Gospel, John the Baptist attests to the authenticity of the mission of
Jesus. We, too, are called to live and take action. John the Baptist had for
his purpose, not to draw attention to himself, but to focus a light on the
person of Jesus Christ. He sums up his mission by referring to Jesus when he
says, "He must increase; I must decrease" (Jn 3:30).
Most
people consider ambition a natural incentive. To want to be the first or the
best is viewed as normal and surely the only way to get ahead in this world of
ours. John the Baptist shows us a value which is just the opposite. His only
ambition was to get out of the way so that Jesus could become first in the
hearts of His own. He wanted the people to see and hear that following Jesus
and not himself was the best thing that could happen to them.
As we
acclaimed in the Responsorial Psalm: "The Lord takes delight in His
people" (cf. Ps 149:4a)! John the Baptist indicates to us one important
aspect of our Christian vocation. We should help to focus a light on Jesus
Christ Who takes delight in us!