John Prepared the Way

 

 

John 1:6-8, 19-28

 ⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

John 1:19-28

John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

²⁴ Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶ “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

We have to  admire the humility, zeal and focus on his mission evident in this exchange between John the Baptist and the inquirers. He immediately denies being the Messiah and calls himself the "voice of one calling in the wilderness, making straight the way for the Lord." He sees himself unworthy to untie the straps of the sandals of the "One who is to come." What a model attitude for us as we, today's disciples, today' Johns, continue to prepare the way of the Lord. May we carry out our mission with similar humility, focus and zeal, especially in this Third Week of Advent, so close to the birth of the Savior next week

Bro.Rene

Dear God, help me to embrace my mission to prepare the way of Jesus into my heart and into the hearts of others. Amen.