My personal devotion to the Baptist stems from a verse from St. John’s Gospel: He must increase; I must decrease. (John 3:30) Our society and our culture seem to push toward self-absorption, self-aggrandizement, self-pity, selfishness, and self-fulfillment. I frequently make reference to the Unholy Trinity when I am preaching: Me, Myself, and I. In St. John the Baptist we meet a person who was just the opposite. He knew that one mightier than he is coming. He was not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. (Luke 3:16b) Rather than hold on to what had become a rather great reputation, John the Baptist was willing to fade into the background and let Jesus take the spotlight.
I am no different than most people. I enjoy being the center of attention as much as anyone. I like receiving compliments. At the same time, I try to remind myself whenever I feel my cranium begin to swell that He must increase; I must decrease. (John 3:30) It is also this motto that helps me deal with daily pain and frustration that comes with chronic illness and disability. I try to remind myself that if Jesus could suffer and die for me, then the least I can do is put up with the daily reminders of my own cross, far smaller and far lighter than his. So as we celebrate the Nativity of St. John, let us join in prayer asking for St. John’s sense of his own smallness in comparison to Jesus.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator