Gospel: John 3:22-30
Jesus and his disciples went into the
region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. John was also
baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized, for John had not yet been imprisoned. Now a
dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial
washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here
he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” John answered and said, “No one
can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves can
testify that I said that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and
listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of
mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are you not insecure when someone is given
more importance than you?
The followers of John and a Jew went to
him to say that somebody was also baptizing. And He was attracting crowd more
than that of John. As if they were urging John to go to that man (who was
actually Jesus) and rebuke Him.
But John told them that the man (Jesus)
who was also baptizing was far more greater than himself. John knew where his
place in the plan of God, he perfectly knew that he was not the anointed one.
By John’s acceptance of his role in the
plan of God, he accelerated Jesus’ mission of evangelization and salvation. He
gave way to Jesus for the common good of the people that they swore to serve.
Rivalry is an ever-present issue among
church workers, among siblings and even married couples. But come to think of
it, instead of having rivalry, why don’t we learn to accept our roles? Why not
cooperate and build bridges instead of walls?
In this gospel episode we learn from
John’s humility. John is humble enough to accept his role in the plan of God. John
knew where his rightful place in the plan of God. John is ever ready to give
way to Jesus anytime because he was humble and self-effacing.
Are you humble and self-effacing as
well? And are you ready to simply fade away for someone who is more qualified
than you are? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment