A man named John was sent from God.  He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.       -   John 1:6-8

He was not the light, but he sure acted like it…

Very easily, this man John the Baptist could have just said, sure, I am the messiah, but he didn’t.  That in itself should tell us this guy is not normal if his dietary habits and fashion choices didn’t already.  John was a man of purpose from the start of his life and that purpose was not his own.  His own father called it back when his tongue was loosed and he scared off the people bugging hI’m and Elizabeth about their choice of names: his name is John and he was sent by God and was to be the Prophet of the Most High.

And as such, he created such a stir as he baptized all of Jerusalem and Judea, that it caught the attention of the higher ups.  So they did what higher ups do.  They sent their people, the priests and Levites, to quiz him…

And when given a golden opportunity to take a slice of the pie…

He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”       –   John 1:20

He admitted, as though he had been accused of a crime, and the evangelist even showed how incredible the humility of this man was by repeating that he had admitted it.  The Baptist could have claimed much more than he did, heck, he could have said, sure, I am the Christ, and they probably would have bought it.  But just like the other players in this, the beginning of the beginning, humility abounds; just as through the Virgin Mother whose humble Fiat brought about the salvation of the world, so too, at the beginning of Christ’s ministry, John the Baptist’s humble acknowledgement of his position in the plan foreshadowed the manifestation of the infinite mercy of God who humbled Himself to share in our humanity…the same one who is to come again in Glory.

Let us pray this Advent season that God may grant us the grace of humility and understanding we need to know our small place in His plan and to follow it with the same humility and purpose that John the Baptist did…

That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.       –   From The Litany of Humility