This is the testimony of John. When the
Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.” So they
asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are
you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we
can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the
way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or
the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among
you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal
strap I am not worthy to untie.” This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
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Reflection:
Would you want to follow the way of
John?
If only we are all like John, we could
have avoided so many troubles in this world. But we are not because we are not
as humble as John. And we are not like John because many of us are not also
ready to die for the sake of upholding what is moral and right.
John is a paradox for many of us
because he was at the threshold of attaining instant fame. But he refused it,
he instead choose to remain humble and not fool around with fleeting fame.
Around that time John had all the opportunities to put himself above everyone
else but he did not.
John chose the way of humility. Such is
John, humble to the core of his bones and loyal to Jesus and His teachings. The
way of John is the way of humility, the way of John is to shun fame and
adulation for the sake of Jesus’ teachings.
Many of us love to be in the limelight,
we hunger for attention and adulation. We love it when we are praised to high
heavens. Our ears even flap in acknowledgment of the honor that is not ours.
Let us be like John at all times always humble, always self-effacing and always pointing to Jesus as the one sent by God.– Marino J. Dasmarinas
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