Gospel: Matthew 11:11-15
From the days of John the Baptist until
now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by
force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if
you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has
ears ought to hear.
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Reflection:
What does John the Baptist brings to us? John brings to us his faithful witness for Jesus and His teachings. Like the Prophets before him, John gave his life so that evil would not triumph over good. In essence it was the devil against God. John choose God over the devil, John choose righteousness over evil and immorality.
For these reasons Jesus hailed John as the greatest amongst the prophets, yet Jesus tells us also that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. Who is greater than John the Baptist? It’s Jesus Himself! Jesus came into this world not with power and might. Like John, Jesus was born into this world bereft of worldly opulence.
Somehow the gospel communicates to us that for us to become great in the eyes of Jesus we have to emulate John. His humble witness for Jesus, his uncompromising stand against evil and so forth. We must not forget also that Jesus is challenging us also to become the least in the eyes of the people of this world.
It means that we must not crave for money, power or anything that this fleeting world will offer us. Nevertheless, even without these worldly things we will strive to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of others. For this is the life of Jesus when He walked on this earth.
Can we emulate the life of John? Are we
capable of shunning the trappings of this world and still make a positive
difference in the lives of our fellowmen just what Jesus did? - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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