Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: John the Baptist

Birthday of John the Baptist

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Normally, we celebrate the feasts of saints on the day of their death, where they are born into eternal life. However, there are three birthdays which are important to us Catholics: Christmas, September 8 (the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and June 24 (the birth of St. John the Baptist). Christmas and mummy Mary’s birthday we can understand more or less why we celebrate them. But John the Baptist? Celebrating his birthday clearly shows how important and vital John the Baptist’s role is in God’s plan of salvation, since Jesus said: “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John” (Lk 7:28).

John the Baptist’s greatness is based on his faithful fulfilment of his role in introducing the Messiah and upholding the Truth. He showed this in three ways. The first is his humility. When asked by the people who he is, he replied: “I am not the Messiah. I am the voice crying out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord!’ He must increase and I must decrease.” Here, John the Baptist shows that he is not the one people should go after. Secondly, he showed his fidelity to his mission, by living and dying as a prophet, faithfully pointing the way to the Messiah. Thirdly, he showed courage for the truth. He dared to challenge Herod for taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his wife, reminding Herod that such an act was wrong, adulterous and sinful. As a result, John the Baptist was beheaded.

John the Baptist challenges all of us to be heralds of the Gospel, with conviction and courage to proclaim the Truth. The truth cannot be compromised, but proclaimed and defended, even if one experiences persecution or even death. May we learn to be like John the Baptist, upholding the truth, and pointing others to Jesus.

Beheading of St. John the Baptist

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When a crime is committed or a serious sin is committed, what do we do? It is easy for many of us to sweep things under the carpet and let things be; or we may think that it is not our concern or our problem; or we just shrug and say that “life is like that, it is not fair, but what could we do.” But how many of us are willing to stand up to the truth, even though we may be ridiculed, face persecution, or even face the possibility of death?

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist had great courage in condemning the marriage of Herod to Herod’s brother’s wife. Because of this, and to please his wife Herodias, Herod had John arrested and put in prison. John stood up for the truth and as a result, he had to pay a price. John’s courage in upholding the dignity of marriage and condemning the adulterous relationship of Herod and Herodias resulted in his death by beheading in prison.

If we are put in a similar situation, would we be courageous like John the Baptist and uphold the truth? Or have we become compromising and accommodating, watering down the truth, or even disposing the truth altogether? In the end, who are we trying to please? Do we want to please mere mortals, that which is temporary? Or would we rather please God, that which is eternal?

Birthday of John the Baptist

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Who is John the Baptist? Why are we celebrating His birthday? What is so significant about him? John the Baptist is the last of the Old Testament prophets. At the same time, his ministry begins the New Testament period. Therefore, he is the link between the Old and the New Testament. But is this reason enough to celebrate the feast of his birthday? There is actually more than meets the eye, and we shall soon discover other significant points concerning why we celebrate his birthday.

We celebrate the feast of his birth because we are also called to share in his ministry as a prophet. Each of us is also called by God to his ministry even before we were born, as the prophet Isaiah in the first reading writes: “the Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.” This means that we are not the result of some accident, but we are part of God’s plan and have a purpose and a mission in life. Also, we have been called to preach the Good News of God’s salvation. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God has made our mouth a sharp sword or a sharpened arrow. This means that we cannot remain silent and remain hidden in our comfort zone.

Besides that, as God’s servant and prophet, we must remember that our reward comes from the Lord, and we should not expect any other earthly reward or payment for what we do. This means that we must not compromise the truth or allow ourselves to be bribed into diluting the truth, even though there will be people who will not like what we say. Moreover, our role is to bring a message of healing and reconciliation to all, just as John the Baptist preached a message of repentance and reconciliation, and called the people to turn back to God by turning away from their evil ways to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Ultimately, we are to point the way to Jesus. We must decrease as Jesus increases. Our message and our ministry does not point to ourselves; and we must lead others to Christ, not to ourselves. All these points mentioned are precisely what John the Baptist did, and we are called to do the same by giving glory to God.

Today, as we celebrate the feast of the birthday of John the Baptist, let us learn from his example, for his example is precisely the model of Christian discipleship. May we, like John the Baptist, bear witness to the Light, and prepare others for the Lord.

Beheading of St. John the Baptist

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If you were to choose either to do what is popular or what is morally right, what would you do? Most of us may say that we would do what is morally right. But when a situation occurs where what is morally right could cause us to face persecution, to lose one’s status or position, or even to face the possibility of being put to death, would we still stick to our principles and face any consequences with courage, knowing that God will care for us?

In today’s Gospel, we see John’s great courage in condemning the marriage of Herod to Herod’s brother’s wife. This is a reminder to us that not everything that is allowed by law is morally right. Herod had John arrested and put in prison. John stood up for the truth and unfortunately like many who stand up for the truth today, he had to pay a price. John’s courage in upholding the dignity of marriage and condemning the adulterous relationship of Herod and Herodias was to result in his death by beheading in prison.

John’s courage in upholding the truth about marriage, and his subsequent beheading as a result, challenges us in a time when it is not popular to speak the truth or live by the truth. Some of us want to be accepted in society, in the world we live in, but there are times we need to choose: be popular in society and lose our relationship with God or vice versa. Let us choose wisely, for our eternal future.

Birthday of John the Baptist

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Today we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist. He was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel announced his birth to his father Zechariah and gave him the name John, which means “God is gracious.”

From John the Baptist, we can learn some important things:

We learn of John’s humility when he did not want attention on himself but directed people to Jesus. People wondered if John was the Messiah and he insisted that he was not. He declared that his ministry was to prepare for the coming of the Messiah and even said, “He must increase, I must decrease.”

We learn of John’s great courage in condemning the marriage of Herod to Herod’s brother’s wife. This is a reminder to us that not everything that is allowed by law is morally right, e.g. divorce and abortion. John stood up for the truth and unfortunately like many who stand up for the truth today he had to pay a price.

John’s courage in upholding the truth challenges us in a time when it is not popular to speak or live by the truth. By turning attention away from himself towards Jesus, John reminds us to do the same also in our lives. In each of us, we ourselves are to decrease and Jesus is to increase. Are we able to be firm and fervent in doing what is right and let Jesus have the greater glory?