Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Earlier this week, the first part of John’s Gospel describes Jesus as the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist identifies himself as “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.”
Before a word is ever vocalized by mouth, lips, or tongue, it first exists in the mind of the speaker as an immaterial thought. When the word is spoken, it undergoes a transformation of sorts. A thought is an immaterial, non-physical thing. But when a word is spoken, it is projected into reality. It becomes a physical sound wave that travels through the air and touches the ears of the hearer in a tangible way. When a word is spoken, the sound waves from the voice spread out like ripples on a pond, and they eventually fade. However, when people hear the voice, the physical sound waves take on meaning in their minds and once again are transformed into immaterial, non-physical thought. The voice fades, but the word remains.
Jesus is the Word, John the Baptist is the voice. The truth about the Christ, the Word of God was given to John in a special way so that he could perform his special role in preparing the way for the Lord. John gives voice to the truth about the Word, the one who is to come, but knows that he himself is just the instrument. He is the voice, but the voice will ultimately fade while the Word takes root and remains in the hearts and minds of the hearers. It is for this reason that John the Baptist later asserts, “He must increase, I must decrease.” Praise, glory, and honor be to God for the infinitely beautiful and mysterious ways that He continues to reveal Himself, the true Word, to each of us in the present day.