Part 4

When John was about thirty years of age the "word of the Lord" (St. Luke III. 2) reached him in his solitude, just as it had done all the prophets of old from Samuel down to Malachias, but since then, that is for a period of four hundred years, God had spoken through no prophet. As a result of this "word" the "Prophet of the Highest" came into all the country about the Jordan--a large area--and began his mission. His arrival made a great stir and the people flocked to see and hear him. There "went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the country about Jordan." All classes went--publicans, soldiers, even the Pharisees and Sadducees, for if this man were really a prophet sent from God, it behoved _them_ to know all about him. What did the multitudes see? A man wearing a "garment of camels' hair and a leathern girdle about his loins," whose food consisted of locusts and wild honey--a man as the Angel Gabriel had prophesied "in the spirit and power of Elias" (see IV Kings I. 8). What did they hear? A voice of one crying in the desert: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths." (St. Matt. III. 3). And what were their conclusions? That this was he who was spoken of by Isaias the prophet (verse 3), that he was "sent from God" (St. John I. 6) and that he "came for a witness, to give testimony of the light" (St. John I. 7). What light? The "Light of the world." John came to proclaim that the dawn which the world had been so long watching was on the point of giving place to day, that the "Sun of justice" was even now rising with "health in His wings" for those that feared God's name, and that they must go forth to meet him (Mal. IV. 2).

I too must go forth. What am I going to do to-day which will prove to myself, to my Guardian Angel, to my Patron Saint, to Mary my Mother and to Him Who is coming that I am preparing the way of the Lord?

POINT II. HIS PREACHING.

John came "preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins" (St. Luke III. 3). His voice was like that of a herald proclaiming a great event that was close at hand. "Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (St. Matt. III. 2). The Messias is coming to set up His Kingdom. He Whom you have so long expected is close to you, prepare for Him. Then John told them shortly and explicitly how to prepare: (1) "To believe in Him Who was to come" (Acts XIX. 4). (2) To repent of their sins and bring forth fruits worthy of penance such as fasting and self-denial (St. Mark II. 18). (3) To confess their sins (St. Mark I. 5). (4) To be baptized as a sign of hope that their sins had been forgiven. John's baptism could not wash away sin, for it was no sacrament, St. Paul, as well as St. Mark and St. Luke, called it the "Baptism of penance" (Acts XIX. 4). It was a baptism which proclaimed to all that he who submitted to it acknowledged himself to be a sinner and a penitent.

John the Baptist was greatly in earnest, for the time was short; he spoke very plainly to those whom he noticed coming to be baptized out of curiosity or human respect without any repentance or intention of doing penance. He warned them of the wrath of God which would fall upon sinners who persisted in their sin, of the folly of thinking that all was well with them because they had Abraham for their father; he told them that every tree which did not yield good fruit would be cut down and cast into the fire, that He Who was coming and was even now so nigh would divide all people into two classes--the wheat and the chaff, and that the great winnowing fan was already in His Hand.

The people then began to feel uncomfortable and alarmed, and anxious to make sure that they were not going to be blown away as chaff, or burnt "with unquenchable fires" by the Mighty One Who was coming; and different classes began to ask John what they must do. His answers were singularly appropriate and confirmed the opinion that he was indeed a prophet. To the people generally he counselled charity, kindness and brotherly love as the best possible preparation; to the public tax-collectors, who grew rich on the sums that they demanded in excess of the fixed tax, that they should do nothing more than that which was appointed; to the soldiers, that they should avoid violence and calumny and be content with their pay (St. Luke III. 10-14). He showed clearly by his straight and simple answers that the best way for us to prepare for Him Who is coming, is to look into our daily life and occupations and change anything and everything that we know He would find faulty.

POINT III. HIS BAPTISM.

One after another the people made up their minds to change their evil lives and bad habits. They made their good resolutions and as a proof of their sorrow for the past and firm purpose of amendment for the future, they went into the Jordan confessing their sins, and John baptized them. He told them then that He Who was coming was mightier than himself, and that He would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and fire. "Then cometh JESUS from Galilee to the Jordan unto John to be baptized by him!" Where had He come from? Straight from His home, from Nazareth, from His Mother. He had come to fulfil John's prophecy, to begin His public ministry to the people, and He would begin it by identifying Himself with them. They were sinners, coming to confess their sins and He would be numbered with the transgressors (Isaias III. 12). "But John stayed Him, saying: I ought to be baptized by Thee, and comest Thou to me?" (St. Matt. III. 14). Though they were cousins it is probable that they had not met since their early childhood. One had lived in the seclusion of Nazareth and the other in the seclusion of the desert. "I knew Him not," (St. John I. 31, 33) John said. It was probably the fact of someone coming for the baptism of penance who had no sins to confess that made John suspect and then protest; but he could not resist the gentle, authoritative words: "Suffer it to be so now, for so it becometh Us to fulfil all justice." Then when He had gone out of the water John saw a wonderful sight--he described it himself: "I saw the Spirit coming down as a dove from Heaven and He remained upon Him; and I knew Him not, but He Who sent me to baptize with water said to me: He upon Whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, He it is That baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw; and I gave testimony, that this is the Son of God." (St. John I. 32-34). He knew Him now--there was no longer any doubt, no more time of waiting and preparation, He Who should come had come. God Himself pointed Him out to the faithful Precursor--a voice from Heaven said: "This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased" (St. Matt. III. 17). What a reward for John after his life of solitude and penance and mortification--to be in close contact with the Son of God, to see the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and to hear the Voice of God the Father, and thus have the seal set to his mission! "And I saw; and I gave testimony."

And what have the waters of Jordan to say? That He, over Whose Sacred Head they closed, has, by the contact of His precious Body, sanctified them and all other waters and given them power, when they are in contact with His mystical Body to wash away sin. JESUS went down to John in the Jordan not to _receive_ a gift, but to _impart_ one. From henceforth the waters will bring forth abundantly and God will say of His new creation, as He did in the beginning, that it is good. All three Persons of the Blessed Trinity were present at this new creation, the Holy Spirit brooded over the face of the waters for this new baptism was the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, the Voice of the Lord was upon the waters (Ps. XXVIII. 3), the Voice, that is, of the Father proclaiming that He was well pleased, not only with His "Beloved Son" but with this first act of His public ministry; for in Him He saw a countless multitude coming out of the sanctified water, and of each one He will say: "_This_ is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."

"O Almighty Eternal God, preside over the mysteries of Thy great mercy, preside over Thy sacraments and send forth the Spirit of adoption to regenerate the new people, whom the font of Baptism brings forth to Thee" (Prayer for the Blessing of the Font on Holy Saturday).

_Colloquy._ "Grant we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that Thy servants may walk in the way of salvation; and by following the exhortation of Blessed John the Precursor may securely attain the possession of Him Whom He foretold, Our Lord JESUS Christ." (Collect for the Vigil of St. John the Baptist).

_Resolution._ To "prepare His ways" to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Blessed John the Baptist ... pray to the Lord our God for us."

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. (3)

HIS TESTIMONY.

"This man came for a witness to give witness of the Light, that all men might believe through Him."

(St. John I. 7).

_1st. Prelude._ "John stood and two of his disciples and beholding JESUS walking, he saith: Behold the Lamb of God." (verses 35, 36).

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace so to hear his testimony that we follow JESUS.

POINT I. "THAT HE MAY BE MADE MANIFEST THEREFORE AM I COME" (verse 31).

This was all John wanted, all he cared about, it was his vocation, it was the point of his long years of mortification, the reason for his preaching and baptism; he was a man of one idea--the Christ is coming, I must manifest Him to the people. This man came for a witness to give testimony of the Light (verse 7). When the people wondering asked him: Art thou the Christ? Art thou Elias? Art thou the prophet? his answer was: No, I am only a voice proclaiming His coming. I, He? Oh, no, I am not worthy to be His slave. He is the Light, the Light of the whole world. "I saw the Spirit coming down as a dove from Heaven and He remained upon Him.... And I saw; and I gave testimony that this is the _Son of God_" (verses 32-34).

Let me look at my preparation for His coming this Advent and see whether I am in any way following in the footsteps of the great Precursor. Can I be said to be a person of one idea--that of manifesting my Lord to others? When people want to make much of me and my work and ask who I am, is my one thought to turn their eyes from me to Him Who is coming? Am I really persuaded that I am only here to make Him manifest? _Is_ He being made manifest to others through me? Do those with whom I come in contact leave me, with a greater knowledge of Him, with a greater desire for His coming, with more anxiety about the salvation of their souls and with more zeal for that of others? Do my words and deeds, does my very manner, speak to them of Him and make them think of Him? "Art thou the Christ?" In one sense, yes, for I am or ought to be another Christ (_alter Christus_), living His life, doing His work and representing Him in the world.

POINT II. "BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD."

This is He, behold Him! He is the Lamb of God. He it is to whom all the lambs that have been sacrificed point; their blood could not wash away sin, but "behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world." You are sorry for your sins, you have confessed them and I have baptized you as a sign that they are forgiven, now there is One among you who takes them away. Behold the Lamb of God! This was what John said when he saw JESUS the day after His baptism; he said the same thing the next day when he saw Him walking by the Jordan; two of his disciples were with him, Andrew and John (probably), and when they saw their master pointing to JESUS and saying: "Behold the Lamb of God!" they did what John meant them to do, they left their master and followed _Him_. How well had the faithful Precursor prepared the way in their hearts! How thoroughly he had done his work! How absolutely he had effaced himself! There was no doubt, no hesitation in the minds of his disciples, no wondering whether John would mind; "_they followed_ JESUS," and John had the joy of seeing JESUS turn and speak to them: "What seek you?" And then the joy of hearing them call _Him_ Master. "Master, where dwellest Thou?" "Come and see." Then the Friend of the Bridegroom saw the three going away together, and he knew that his mission had not been in vain, the Bride was beginning to join the Bridegroom.

POINT III. "HE THAT HATH THE BRIDE IS THE BRIDEGROOM."

It was not for nothing that Andrew and John spent that day with JESUS. They told others what they had found: "We have found the Messias, which is being interpreted the Christ," and they brought their companions one by one to JESUS, with the result that very soon the Baptism of the Holy Ghost was taking place in the Jordan as well as the Baptism of Penance, and the people instructed by John left the less for the greater.

There were "busybodies," as St. Paul calls them (1 Tim. V. 13), even in those days, people who could not let others alone, who could not understand the situation or pretended that they could not; they "came to John and said to him: Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to Whom thou gavest testimony, behold He baptizeth and all men come to _Him_" (St. John III. 26). They were words calculated to stir up jealousy and ill-feeling; but John was too humble and too great to be disturbed by them, his answer was characteristic: "You yourselves do bear me witness, that I said that I am not Christ, but that I am sent before Him. He that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom." There is the proof that all I have been telling you is true. He has the Bride, the people all go to Him, you see for yourselves that He _must_ be the Bridegroom; "but the Friend of the Bridegroom, who standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth with joy because of the Bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled." It was enough for "the Friend of the Bridegroom" to hear His Master's voice. The necessity for him and his preaching was fast passing away and he knew it. He had been for a time the great man, the popular preacher, the one every one talked about, whose advice everyone sought, now he must stand aside and see his disciples gather round another master, himself not in the group at all. It is a position most workers in God's vineyard find themselves in sooner or later, they have to give place to others, to watch others reaping the fruit of their labours, to see those whom they have taught going to other teachers, those who have sought their advice seeking it elsewhere. How do they bear this difficult situation? How am I going to bear it when my turn comes? Am I going to pose as a martyr, craving for and expecting every one's sympathy? Am I going to put difficulties in the way of those who succeed me, and make it hard for those to whom it has been my privilege to minister? Some are even jealous and show their displeasure by criticizing those who succeed them! What was John's attitude? All he wanted was his Master and His Will. He was the "Friend of the Bridegroom." He was satisfied to stand on one side, and his cup of joy was full when he heard his Master's Voice. "He must increase" in the minds of the people "and I must decrease." Let me learn a lesson from John the Baptist and make my sacrifice beforehand, remembering that nothing matters so long as I am the friend of the Bridegroom, can hear His Voice and see the souls I have tried to help following Him. These are joys, real joys, and they are perhaps never fully realized till the cool shade of the background is reached.

POINT IV. JOHN'S TESTIMONY OF HIMSELF.

1. I am sent before Him (St. John III. 28).

2. I am the voice (chap. I. 23).

3. I baptize with water (verses 26, 31).

4. I am not worthy (verse 27).

5. I am come that He may be made manifest (verse 31).

6. I ought to be baptized by Thee (St. Matt. III. 14).

7. I knew him not. (St. John I. 31).

8. I saw the Spirit coming down ... and He remained upon Him (verse 32).

9. I saw (verse 34); (that is, I understood).

10. I gave testimony that this is the Son of God. (ibid.)

11. I am not the Christ (verse 20).

12. I must decrease (chap. III. 30).

_Colloquy_ with St. John the Baptist.

_Resolution._ To bear my testimony.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Behold the Lamb of God!"

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. (4)

HIS MARTYRDOM.

"Herod the Tetrarch, when he was reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, he added this also above all, and shut up John in prison."

(St. Luke III. 19, 20).

_1st. Prelude._ John the Baptist in Prison.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to be faithful unto death.

POINT I. JOHN IN PRISON.

John knew no fear where right was concerned. His duty was to make the paths straight for Him who was coming and it mattered little to him whether he rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees at the Jordan or Herod in his palace. Herod, however, could not brook such plain speaking and he had (at first) a mind to put him to death (but) "he feared the people, because they esteemed him as a prophet" (St. Matt. XIV. 5). Herodias also had "laid snares for him and was desirous to put him to death and could not" because of Herod who knowing that John was "a just and holy man" (afterwards) protected his life (St. Mark VI. 19, 20). So John was shut up in prison; Josephus tells us that it was at a place called Machaerus on the east of the Dead Sea where Herod had a castle.

Let us go and visit John in that lonely prison, where he was cast quite at the beginning of Christ's ministry. His long years of preparation in the desert, his fearless, outspoken preaching, his generosity and humility in giving place to his Master, his important office of Forerunner of the Messias, his vision of the Blessed Trinity--are they all to end thus? Is this how God treats His friends? Is this the reward for fidelity and loyalty? Yes, St. John would be the first to answer, these are ever God's ways, "He must increase, I must decrease." John had indeed been specially favoured and he was specially favoured in prison too. It is not everybody whom God can trust with a trial such as this. John was still preparing the ways of the Lord, no longer by an active life, but by a life of suffering, solitude and privation. His patience and his perfect submission to God's Will no doubt prepared the ways of Christ in the hearts of many.

If He is to increase, I _must_ decrease, it is only natural. Yes, it is natural for the saints to reason like this, but what about me? I want to be a saint. I often perhaps ask God to make me one, perhaps I even tell Him to use any means He likes, not to spare me. Does not this solve many a problem? God is only taking me at my word; the beginning, the middle and the end of the process of saint-making is _humility_. "I must decrease," and if I ask to be a saint, He will give me the humiliations and the sufferings which alone can teach me humility and unite me to Himself. What then does it matter, if I have to suffer physically or morally, if a career of usefulness in His service is suddenly cut short, if I have to stand on one side and see the work I love and for which my whole life has been a preparation, being done by another, if those I have taught do not seem to understand, if my life is full of little things I dislike and which seem made to annoy me--all these and everything else that can possibly happen to me are the direct result of my God-given wish to be a saint. Let me ask St. John the Baptist for courage to continue my prayer this Advent and to accept joyfully for Him Who is coming all that it entails, saying, to myself when something seems to happen on purpose to annoy me: "This is to help to make me a saint," and then seeing to it that it does.

POINT II. THE END.

Vengeance still rankled in the breast of Herodias for John had said to Herod: "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." She laid her plans and awaited her opportunity; it came on Herod's birthday; he gave a supper for the princes and tribunes and chief men of Galilee, and she made her daughter come in and dance till they were all so pleased that Herod swore to the girl: "Whatsoever thou shalt ask I will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom." Herodias knew Herod and expecting that this would happen had told her daughter to do nothing without consulting her. "What shall I ask?" she said to her mother, who replied without any hesitation: "The head of John the Baptist." Herodias was evidently afraid that the king would change his mind and that her wicked plans would after all fail, for she impressed upon her daughter the necessity of haste. The girl went back _immediately, with haste_ to Herod, and said: "I will that _forthwith_ thou give me in a dish the head of John the Baptist." Herod was very sorry, for he was interested in his prisoner, also he knew him to be "a just and holy man" (St. Mark VI. 20) and he hesitated before such a crime; but he had taken an oath and to break it before his guests would be inconsistent with his dignity, besides "he would not displease" the girl, so he acted at once as Herodias had bidden him: "he sent and beheaded John in the prison, and his head was brought in a dish, and it was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother."

"Faithful unto death."--"O Lord, Thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones" ("Communion" for the feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, August 29th).

"And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and came and told JESUS," told the Bridegroom that His "friend" was dead. "Which when JESUS had heard, He retired from thence by a boat, into a desert place apart."

"Faithful unto death," I must be too, if my preparation this Advent is to be anything like that of St. John the Baptist. He died to self long before his cruel death in the prison; his whole life from the day he went into the desert as a little child was a living death: "As dying and behold we live" (2 Cor. VI. 9). This is how St. Paul describes the state of all those who "_will_ live godly in Christ JESUS" (2 Tim. III. 12). It is the death of "the old man," the death of self; the "I" must ever be decreasing, ever receiving the blows which will one day, probably not before the soul's last day on earth, cause its death. Such is the prospect I have before me, if I would copy John the Baptist and be faithful unto death. What is my consolation and strength? That JESUS knows and sympathizes. Not one of the blows which cost me so much, not one of the sufferings, not one hour of desolation or loneliness or temptation or misunderstanding or unkindness, or any of the many things which are conspiring together for the death of "the old man," are lost upon Him. He knows, He cares, He sympathizes and He is glad, for in proportion as the "I" is decreasing, _He_ is increasing in my soul.

_Colloquy_

(1) With John in the prison. (2) With JESUS in "a desert place apart."

_Resolution._ To be "faithful unto death" to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "I spoke of Thy testimonies before kings and I was not ashamed" ("Introit" for the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist).

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. (5)

HIS CHARACTER.

"What went you out into the desert to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went you out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are in costly apparel and live delicately, are in the houses of kings. But what went you out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet, for ... among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. But he that is the lesser in the Kingdom of God, is greater than he."

(St. Luke VII. 24-28).

_1st. Prelude._ JESUS talking to His disciples about John.

_2nd. Prelude._ Grace to stand by and listen and learn.

POINT I. HIS HUMILITY.