The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Saint of the day for June 24th
The story of San Giovanni Battista
Jesus called John the greatest of all who preceded him: "I tell you, among the born of women, nobody is greater than John ..." But John would completely agree with what Jesus added: "[Y] et the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is "(Luke 7:28).
John spent his time in the desert, an ascetic. He began to announce the arrival of the Kingdom and to call everyone to a fundamental reform of life. His purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus. His baptism, he said, was for repentance. But one would come and baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John wasn't even worthy to untie the sandals. His attitude towards Jesus was: “It must increase; I must decrease ”(John 3:30).
John was humbled to find among the crowd of sinners who came to be baptized the one who already knew to be the Messiah. "I need to be baptized by you" (Matthew 3: 14b). But Jesus insisted: "Allow it now, because it is therefore appropriate for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3: 15b). Jesus, true and humble human as well as eternal God, was anxious to do what was required of any good Jew. Thus Jesus publicly entered the community of those waiting for the Messiah. But being part of that community made it truly messianic.
John's greatness, his pivotal place in the history of salvation, is seen in the great emphasis that Luke gives on the announcement of his birth and of the event itself - both made remarkably parallel to the same occurrences in the life of Jesus. John attracted countless people on the banks of the Jordan and some thought it might be the Messiah. But he constantly referred to Jesus, also to send away some of his followers to become the first disciples of Jesus.
Perhaps John's idea of the coming of the Kingdom of God was not being perfectly fulfilled in Jesus' public ministry. For whatever reason, when he was in prison, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah. Jesus' response showed that the Messiah was to be a similar figure to that of the Servant of Suffering in Isaiah. John himself would have shared the model of messianic suffering, losing his life for the revenge of Herodias.
Reflection
John challenges us Christians to the fundamental attitude of Christianity: total dependence on the Father, in Christ. With the exception of the Mother of God, no one had a superior function in the development of salvation. Yet the least in the kingdom, said Jesus, is greater than he is, by the pure gift that the Father gives. John's attraction and austerity, his proud courage in denouncing evil, all derive from his fundamental and total location of his life in the will of God.