A Voice Is Born

Consider all the great women and men of our time. Think of the presidents, queens, members of Parliament, senators and heads of transnational companies. In our day they control vast amounts of wealth and pull the levers of power. However, like the rest of us, they will one day die and, soon after, they will be forgotten. Of all the influential people of our day, how many will be remembered even one hundred years from now? How many do you suppose will have their birthdays celebrated five hundred or one thousand years from now? I think it would be safe to say that it will be very few if any.

However, today Christians from around the world gather to celebrate the birth of a simple man. He did not control vast amounts of wealth. In fact, he dressed in camel skins and ate only locusts and wild honey.  He did not have a place at the table with the powerful. He left behind no great literary works and founded no institutions. Rather he gave his life to God and followed His call to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins, to baptize and to herald the coming of the Messiah.

John the Baptist was a towering figure in early Christianity. Every gospel begins with some mention of his preaching along the banks of the Jordan River. Most of Jesus’ first disciples had been followers of John the Baptist. Jesus Himself was a great admirer of his, even choosing to begin His ministry by being baptized by him in the Jordan River. Our Lord would also say of him that no man born of woman was ever greater than John the Baptist. By preparing the way for the Messiah, he serves as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments.

We remember him today not only because of his foundational and pivotal role in the development of our faith. We also remember him because he has must to teach us about what it means to serve God and work for His Kingdom.

First of all, John the Baptist teaches us that each of us is called by God for some special task. Even before he was born, our Heavenly Father had chosen his parents, a very old couple, to make it clear that his birth was a work of God. Already in his mother’s womb, God was preparing him for the role he would fulfill so that when Mary came to visit Elizabeth he could already recognize the one who would give birth to the Messiah. Though he did not understand all the details of God’s plan, he said “yes” to him even to the point of giving his life.

Each of us was known by God before we were conceived. We were already in the mind of God before the world was created. He has always loved us and called us to love Him in return. As our lives develop, He has stood by our side offering us the grace to do His will. When we have rejected Him, he has offered us forgiveness. Like John the Baptist, we do not know or understand what it is he has planned for us. Nonetheless, every day we live with the confidence that He will give us what we need to do His will. John the Baptist teaches us to entrust ourselves to God and to do whatever it takes to follow Christ faithfully.

Secondly, John the Baptist always pointed toward Jesus. Though vast crowds would come out to hear him speak, he knew that he was only the herald of someone greater who would come after him. He was preparing the way for the Messiah. So when Jesus finally did come on the scene, he allowed those who had been his disciples to leave him and follow our Lord. He did not protest, he did not try to hold on to the influence and power he previously had. As he would say in the gospel of John, “[Jesus] must increase, and I must decrease.”

The example of John the Baptist continues to be important especially in our day. So many of us ask, “What’s in it for me?” We are often so busy holding on to what we have that we miss the opportunity to gain something greater. However, like John the Baptist, we exist to point to Jesus. As individuals and as a Church, we must never forget that everything we say and do must be in the service of our Lord. Buildings will crumble, organizations will dissolve and people will be forgotten. Our work will only survive if it is centered in Jesus. And so we are called by the grace of God to put aside our own interests, our own vision of how things should be and our egos to serve the Kingdom of God.

Finally, John the Baptist was never afraid to speak the truth. Whether it was a peasant, a religious leader, a soldier or a King, he called all to repent of their sins and prepare themselves for the Messiah. In the end, he was imprisoned and beheaded for daring to criticize King Herod for abandoning his own wife to live with his brother’s wife. Speaking out and defending the sanctity of marriage cost him his life.

If we are to be faithful followers of Jesus, we must also never be afraid to speak the truth in love. As our culture drifts further and further away from valuing the sanctity of human life and the role that traditional marriage plays in building up society, it will be increasingly difficult to live our faith. It is not inconceivable even in countries that claim to defend religious liberty that churches will be vandalized and individuals attacked for promoting God’s vision for family life. Like John the Baptist we need not worry or panic. God will provide for our needs. Yet we must pray for the courage to stay faithful in our witness to Jesus no matter what the cost.

On this day, we celebrate the birth of a great man. Called by God from the womb, he pointed to Jesus and remained faithful to Him to the point of death. We pray that we can learn from and follow his example and so bring the world what it so desperately needs - the hope of a Saviour.