FEAST OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 2007

Feast: John the Baptist 10:30 2007 (at Trinity high school) A father sitting at the dining room table spent most of his meal correcting his little boy’s table manners. He said to his wife, “Will the training ever be finished?” His wife replied, “A boy’s training will never end. He just gets married and then his wife takes over the job of training him. And please, dear, don’t talk with food in your mouth.” John the Baptist spent most of his life in the wilderness training for his mission. He fasted severely, eating only locusts and wild honey. Then he began his mission as the prophet who announced the coming of Jesus. There is an intimacy between Jesus and John the Baptist as warm as the Jordan waters under a summer sun. There is a shared vision between Jesus and John the Baptist as unifying as the one truth of God which each proclaims. But there were differences between the two: John came fasting from the wilderness to confront sinners; Jesus came from the towns and villages, eating and drinking with sinners. John was aloof like a desert scorpion who knew his sting could paralyze the spirit of repentance. Jesus was gregarious like a cluster of grapes crushed into refreshing wine who celebrated the return of every repentant sinner. Now Jesus speaks about John to the few disciples he had gathered in the beginning of his mission. There is no one greater born of woman than John the Baptist. Yet he is the least in the Kingdom of heaven. His disciples, not yet used to Jesus’ paradoxes are stunned. How, one of his new disciples asks, can one and the same person be the greatest and the least? Jesus smiles, knowing this is a trial run for his teaching. John, he explains, is the greatest of prophets because he preaches as no one has the wrath of God reserved for unrepentant sinners. But he is the least because he has not heard or internalized my teaching that God has an unconditional love for all sinners. John is the night stalker, entering into the darkness of people’s souls; I am the Light of the world, illuminating the goodness in people’s hearts. John came to call people back to the Old Law; I have come to make all things new. There is a dual path through your spiritual life: the path that leads to John who preaches repentance from our sinfulness and the path that takes us to Jesus who reveals that our God continues to dwell on earth by living within us. For me the message of this feast is that I am to repent of my sins so that God, the indwelling Trinity, will be freer to exert his love through me more influentially, more dynamically. I must always prep myself anew to be a Christ-bearer, to bring Christ to others through my sacrificial service, through my empathetic listening, through my joy in living my faith. HUMOR The tiresome jury selection process continued, each side hotly contesting and dismissing potential jurors. Johnny Shea was called for his question session. “Property holder?” “Yes, I am, Your Honor.” “Married or single?” “Married for over twenty-five years, Your Honor.” “Formed or expressed an opinion?” “Not since I married, Your Honor.” THOUGHT Always repent that you may love more.