Today as a Church we celebrate the nativity of John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the Israelite prophets. John is the one of whom his own father Zechariah said, You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
As great as John is—evidenced by the commotion and wonder around his birth, as well as the Lord’s words later that among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist (Matt 11:11)—his greatness is surpassed by that of Jesus. Indeed, in today’s second reading Paul quotes John as saying, I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet. John humbly and boldly points to the Lord who is to come.
We would do well to meditate on this preparatory role of John the Baptist today, for as Christians, we share a similar role: not to glorify ourselves, but in all that we say and do, to glorify Christ whose name we bear. So let us pray for this grace today, to point always to our Lord who has come and who will come again in glory to save us, that the Lord’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.