Today's
feast of John the Baptist reminds me of a story. Years ago, when in
New York, the archbishop was principal celebrant at one of our late
afternoon festive liturgies. He’d had a grueling day. And at the
evening extravaganza, the choir sang all the hymn verses, the Gloria,
the Credo and much more. The homilist spoke for forty-five
minutes.
And the pastor introduced everyone in the long offertory procession
with a commentary about each.
After
communion, the archbishop
was about to conclude, when lo and behold more music began and a
woman in a flowing gown did an elaborate liturgical dance, which to
the archbishop resembled Salome in the Bible dancing before King
Herod and his guests. The archbishop, in light of this biblical
narrative, discreetly leaned over to the pastor and deadpanned, “If
she wants your head on a platter, she’s got it.” The moral of the
story: don't overdo a good thing. And luckily I wasn't the pastor.
A question? Who are your heroes
and heroines in Catholic Christianity? And why? Think about it.
Francis of Assisi? Ignatius of Loyola? Therese of Lisieux? Mother
Teresa?
Well,
one of my favorite heroes, whose birthday we celebrate today, is John
the Baptist.
He
is called
“the baptist” because he invited people to be immersed in the
Jordan River waters as a sign of repentance, a change of life from
one's old ways to a right relationship with God. John
is the one who prepares the way for Jesus,
the bridge between the two covenants that created that special
relationship
between God and us: that
of the Hebrews and that of Jesus Christ.
John
definitely wasn’t into fashion or gourmet food
–he lived a rugged,
ascetic life-style,
wearing camel skin and eating locusts and wild honey. And his message
in the wilderness was very simple. He proclaimed what the prophet
Micah begged the Hebrews to do centuries before: do
what is right, love goodness, and walk humbly with your God.
“Repent,” John cried out; “orient your life to God and the
things of God.” John pointed to Jesus as the
light,
the
Lord,
the One to whom we owe our ultimate allegiance, the “passover” or
sacrificial lamb
of God
through whose blood we have God’s eternal life.
John
proclaims that Jesus
must increase,
while he, John, must decrease. John is indeed the
herald of Jesus;
and for speaking the truth to power, King Herod, John was imprisoned
and executed. John
challenges us to
be heralds or messengers of Jesus by
the manner in which we live
in our families, in our workplaces and in our communities.
The
word of God takes us back to the 6th
century before Jesus (the 500s), to one of the four songs in the Book
of Isaiah about a
servant or Messiah or anointed One
who would proclaim the glory or presence of God, a
light
that would illuminate the purpose of life. The author of Isaiah may be challenging us to be servants
of God:
standing up for
truth, justice, freedom and peace; a light in the midst of all the
dark forces around us.
In
the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, the author alludes to the story
of our salvation.
John proclaims repentance, an orienting of our lives to God so that
we will welcome into our own hearts the
Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh, the glory and presence
of God among us.
The
author of The Book of the Acts may be challenging us to ask ourselves: what
do people see in us? The glory or presence of God?
Or something less?
In
the Gospel according to Luke, the author depicts a Jewish family
gathered together to celebrate the birth of their child. And here
they are
arguing about the child’s name.
Many of us can relate to this. And because of the unusual
circumstances surrounding the birth of this child (the aged
parents,
the father’s muteness
and then the miraculous recovery of his speech),
people asked: what name will you give to this child?
The
parents surprisingly name him John which means “Yahweh
has shown favor.”
Later
on, we recognize John as the one who prepares the way for the
Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. And that, the author implies, is our
role too:
to prepare the way for Jesus so that others can “encounter” the
living God who became flesh in Jesus and is alive
in our midst
by the power of the Spirit.
John
the baptist had a
mission in life.
The author of the Gospel sums up John’s mission in the canticle or
song of Zechariah, John’s father: “you
will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.”
You
and I also are called to prepare the way for the Lord so that the
Lord
can enter into the hearts
of our fellow human beings, so that through our own hearts the grace
and favor of God can empower others to “do what is right, love
goodness and walk humbly with our God.” And there’s no better
place to begin preparing “the Lord’s way” than in our own
families.
How
can we prepare the way for the Lord in our families?
First,
try to create a better sense of togetherness,
a feeling of closeness and care for one another. Keep
in touch
with one another personally, even if it’s only by phone or
email or text message; be
hospitable,
concerned
about elderly grandparents/parents, relatives and friends. Remember
birthdays/anniversaries and celebrate them together, if possible.
Participate
in
special family events, e. g., graduations, baptisms, confirmations,
marriages, cookouts, mass, and so on. Communicate
with one another; take
responsibility for family chores,
spend
time
together; share
the good news as well as the bad;
above all, keep
your word
and thereby build up trust with one another.
Second,
take control of family
life.
There are so many activities that can easily divide a family –
activities all valuable in themselves, but if not checked, can rob
families of time together.
And
finally, parents have to let their sons/daughters become the persons
God created them to be. The
purpose of family is to nurture children in a secure and loving
environment, and coach/mentor them,
until they become mature enough to venture
out on their own and become responsible adults.
And
so this summer, like John the Baptist, prepare the way for the Lord,
especially in our families. How? By creating an even better
sense of togetherness;
by spending time
together;
and by accepting and appreciating family members for who
they are.
