Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
What matters for you? Would it matter if your child did not return home from school one day? Would it matter if you lost your job? Would it matter if your spouse or partner was becoming an addict? Would it matter if you were diagnosed with a terminal illness? How much does it matter that Miami Heat won the NBA championship? How much does it matter if the Reds lose their first place in the National League Central division? What does it matter that you gained a pound or two in the last month? How much does it matter when your prayer life is in a mess? How much do you care that according to the best of your knowledge, your life reflects God’s will?
If you took the time to answer these questions you could easily prioritize what really matters to you and what was inconsequential to you. You will also come to realize that you put much time and energy into things that matter to you.
As we celebrate the birthday of John the Baptist, one of the things we realize is that this one life that had meaning only in relation to Christ. That is why in the first reading we hear the words, “The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name.” We know from the scriptures that John’s identity, his meaning and purpose in life, and his reason for existence is completely by subsumed Christ. In fact, Christ becomes the sole purpose of his life.
During Christ’s own life-time and even after his death and resurrection, John the Baptist was more important than even Mary, the mother of Jesus. Since then Mary has come to occupy center stage along with Jesus, but today, the church holds up John the Baptist for us because what is true of John the Baptist should also true for us. So let me offer you three points.
a) The search for meaning. The main concern that most of us get occupied with for most of our adult life is the search for meaning. I know a young adult in our parish. She is pretty, has a decent job, comes from a good family and takes her faith very seriously. A few months back we had a conversation with this young person, who from my perspective has everything going her way. When everything is going her way, she has decided to switch careers. She has since gotten into school again to get a teaching degree so that she can teach in a Catholic school. “It is scary,” she says, “but, I am looking for meaning and purpose.” Each of us may ask ourselves this question today: Where lies the meaning of my life?
b) Keeping our Origin and Destiny in View. As we get older, many of us begin to concern ourselves with the question of our destiny. And it is a legitimate concern. Sometimes, though, I think in the process we forget our origin - where we have come from. Why did God create us? If today’s scripture is true that, “The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name,” then there must be a reason why God put us on earth in this age and time. We have a life to figure that out. When you and I get back to God, what are we going to say to God about having accomplished God’s purpose?
c) Christ at the Center. We live in a culture where the individual person is the primary unit of society. It is about my personal and individual rights. And I am not saying there is anything wrong with it but if we are not careful, this can impact our social, family and spiritual life. Let me give you an example. This Friday, I had a memorial service. Here was a ninety-year old man burying his 52 year old daughter who was his full time care giver. There was something very wrong about it. And part of me was very angry with God. And this is what I mean by saying that the individual is the primary focus in society. As easily as my anger can be justified, I am not God. I need to have Christ at the center and not me and how I imagine that life should unfold. If I constantly have my person at the center, it can impact my other relationships. This is what John the Baptist teaches us. Even if it cost our life as it did for John, we must decrease and others and God must increase. Salvation happens the day we have list our individual self in God.
So I ask you these questions again; What matters for you? Does it matter that your prayer life is a mess? Does it matter that your life reflects the life of God? Does it matter that the choice to be in heaven or not is in our hands?
Fr. Satish Joseph