Today is a major feast in many parts of the world. In Peru it is the day of the hard-working farm laborer and the patron saint feast throughout the Amazon region. For many years it was a national holiday in Peru. It is a day of joy, dancing, processions, special foods, and parades. John the Baptist comes to announce the beginning of the new times, the beginning of the establishment of a new Church with the Savior as its head. God is truly acting in human history. The joy of this day comes from the beginning of God’s fulfillment of his promises to redeem his people. Today is the beginning of the joy of Christmas and Easter.
John was born into a priestly tribe and family. Surely, he assisted his father during Zechariah’s shifts of service in the Jerusalem temple. John was well trained in the priestly prayers and sacrificial offerings made daily in the temple. One would expect that John should begin his mission to announce the arrival of the messiah, the new times, and a new Church right in the Jerusalem temple. But leaving behind that formal, ritualistic temple worship that was often difficult to live, especially for the poor, John goes out into the desert to begin his mission.
John announces the proximity of the reign of God and even identifies the Savior while he is preaching in the desert. That was his whole mission – prepare the people for the coming of the Savior. The empty desert where God is the center of life, where only God can provide life, is the starting point of a true internal conversion that leads us to the reign of God and to recognizing the Savior in our life. When we become an empty desert where only God can provide life, we find the joy of today’s celebration. It is necessary to live John’s call to repentance and a deep reorientation of our lives before we can have true encounter with the Savior. A life centered on excesses does not help us recognize the Savior. Jesus’ first disciple came from among John’s disciple because their lives were centered on God and repentance. Life the desert made them predisposed to recognizing God’s actions in their lives.
Building a local church, a local faith community involves preparing ourselves through repentance and life in the desert that we see in John the Baptist. Our modern culture tells us we are all abandoned by God, encourages us to fill ourselves with things, and to place ourselves in the center of our lives. There is no place or time for God’s action there. Even our natural religiosity can distance us from God’s plan.
Take some time this week to begin a new life with John the Baptist – out in the desert. Do away with some things, some excesses, some modern idols, some time-consuming, enslaving, foolish practices. Center your life on the confidence of God’s action in your life. In the desert of God’s providence, we can find a reason to dance, celebrate, and be truly joyful.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
Image: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-the-baptist-515