Today our Church celebrates the feast of the birth of John the Baptist, the prophet who went ahead of Jesus, preaching a baptism of repentance. In the Gospel reading, we read about how John pointed to something greater than himself even from his birth. Rendered mute after questioning the word of the angel who told him that he would have a son, John’s father Zechariah remained unable to speak until the day of John’s birth. Only after announcing that his son would be named John, the name given to him by the angel, did Zechariah regain his speech. It was this sign that caused people to ask “What, then, will this child be?” In today’s second reading, Paul recounts how John himself answers this question by saying, “What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.”
In each account of John’s ministry, we hear him rejecting praise and acclamation for himself, turning the focus instead to Jesus. From birth, John pointed toward Jesus, the one who came after him. Do our actions bring focus on ourselves, or do they point others toward Christ?
—The Jesuit Prayer team