Reflection for January 2
This gospel of John is a fulfillment of the Old Testament readings “...that the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among you, from your fellow Israelites (Deuteronomy 18:15-16) and to “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.” (Isaiah 49:3-4).
When John the Baptist showed up, the people were confused and demanded to know who the stranger was. He affirmed that he was neither Elijah nor a Prophet, but someone who was merely paving the way for “the one who is coming after me.” John the Baptist’s humility was especially evident when he told the crowd that the one who was to follow was someone “…whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
It’s not surprising that Pope Francis has invoked that same spirit of John the Baptist’s humility to permeate the Church’s present days Synod. He encouraged Synod participants to cultivate that same virtue of knowing “how to step aside” to bear witness to Jesus, just as St. John the Baptist did “so that many may have the joy of meeting Jesus.”
Pope Francis said that it was in this way that St. John the Baptist taught us “freedom from attachments” and “gratuitousness, taking care of others without benefit for oneself.”
Jim Malley