December 17, 2023
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My Dear Parishioners,
John the Baptist always plays a big role in Advent. He was the last and greatest of a long line of Old Testament prophets. God sent those prophets to prepare Israel for the arrival of the Messiah, the anointed Savior and Redeemer of the world - Jesus. Isaiah's prophecy in today's First Reading was made more than five hundred years before John the Baptist's prophecy, but their substance is very much the same: God has not forgotten his people, and in spite of their sufferings, sins, and failings, he will come and save them, shepherding them to a happiness beyond what they can imagine. But if John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets, he was the first of the New Testament prophets. As the first New Testament prophet, John the Baptist has a valuable lesson to teach us about how to be a prophet. At the beginning, John called for repentance, for people to turn away from their sins.
First, John invited the people of his time to repent from their sins, so that they would be ready to welcome Jesus, the Savior. John invited those who came to hear him to leave behind the sinful patterns of life, so that God's grace can come into their lives. John knew that sins such as greed, lies, adultery, laziness, fornication, and every kind of selfishness is destructive. He knew that every sin
would lead people further away from the happiness and peace of mind they long for. It was not his own version of morality; it is God’s morality, the morality he built into human nature. In the end, John died for speaking the truth when he denounced the king for marrying his sister-in-law. Ultimately, the heart of his message was all about Christ! His message was centered on the One whom he pointed out to even his own disciples. John relentlessly turned people's attention towards Christ: "One mightier than I is coming after me... He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." His life revolved around this one task: to turn people to Christ!
Padre
