Preparing the Way

 

Jn 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.

This seems like an Advent passage rather than a  post-Christmas one, but on this day when we Marist Brothers of the Schools are celebrating the 207th anniversary of  of our founding, it is a fitting reminder of our mission to continue  preparing the way for Jesus in the hearts and lives of our students.  When so many families are unchurched, when students know so little about the Faith, our Marist Mission to make Jesus known and loved is more needed and necessary than even in the first days of our existence in post-revolutionary France. Like John the Baptist, we prepare the way, we touch hearts, we introduce Jesus  and pass on his teachings as best we can. We pray today that we might remain faithful to this call and that many others, might hear it and heed it.

Bro. Rene

Dear God, thank you for calling St. Marcellin and the Marist Brothers to follow in the footsteps of John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord and make him known and loved. Call many new members to further this mission. Amen.