Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist

In sports, entertainment, industry, politics, religion and every other walk of life, we find ambitious people trying to get ahead. They want the top spot, the recognition with its authority, perquisites and honor. We have grown inured to the horror stories such ambition generate. Cain, King Saul, Herod, Caligula, Hitler, Stalin, Nixon, Madoff: every generation breeds its own monsters.

There seems to have been a moment when John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth were contenders for the title of “The Prophet.” Both had followers and were becoming known throughout the narrow world of first century Judaism. Saint Luke tells us that, years after both had died, there were still isolated groups of John’s disciples who had not heard of Jesus. (Acts 18:25 & 19:1-6)But the New Testaments tells us that, upon the arrival of Jesus on the banks of the Jordan River, John honored Jesus as the greater. He said, “I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.”

The scriptures and our Advent Season honor John the Baptist as a model disciple. He had the talent, ambition and opportunity to grab and hold the claim of The Prophet. He might have challenged Jesus from his position in the Jordan River. 
But without hesitation he acceded to Jesus’ ascendancy. The Holy Spirit spoke clearly to him, that he should be the bridegroom’s best man, not the bridegroom. John the Baptist taught us the essential attitude of every Christian as we serve the Lord: “He must increase; I must decrease.” 

John’s birth marks the summer solstice, the end of springtime and the peak of the sunlight season. The sun’s fadeout into fall and winter reminds us of John’s humility; the sun’s return in spring will celebrate Jesus' rising.