Saturday after Epiphany
“He must increase; I must decrease.” These words of John the Baptist at the end of today’s gospel are the mantle of Christian humility. We know that John the Baptist came before Jesus and baptized his followers, always speaking of one greater who will come and baptize with the Holy Spirit. Indeed, earlier in the Gospel of John, John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:36). According to all of our sources, John had quite a following in first century Palestine. One could imagine that as such a renowned figure, he would be tempted to draw all of the attention to himself. Yet, by God’s grace he humbly fulfilled his role as the one who prepares the way of Jesus. John the Baptist becomes one of the most profound examples of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus – a disciple is one who always directs attention to the Master. Despite John’s important role in God’s plan, he didn’t think himself worthy even to untie Jesus’ sandal straps (Jn 1:27).
Let us think about the various ways that we can allow Christ to be present to others not by drawing attention to ourselves. In today’s first reading, John mentions deadly sin. It seems that the type of sin that is ultimately deadly is the denial of sin itself. For if we don’t recognize our sinfulness, reconciliation is impossible. Such a denial of the sinful human condition can creep in if we are too focused on ourselves to see the “The Lamb of God,” who takes away the sins of the world.
We are presented with more and more ways to improve ourselves, as the “self-help” section at Barnes and Noble proves. Reflecting on ourselves and examining our conscience can help us to live the Christian life, but an obsession with self-improvement can lead to a prideful perfectionism, which denies the reality of human sinfulness and obstructs our gaze on Jesus, who alone is sinless. As the Baptist’s words sink into our hearts – “He must increase; I must decrease” – let us think about one way that we might grow closer to Christ by not thinking about ourselves.
- Tim Gabrielli