Ortus Christi: Meditations for Advent

by Mother St. Paul

2nd. Prelude. Grace so to hear his testimony that we follow Jesus.

Point I. "That He may be made manifest therefore am I come" (verse 31).

This was all John wanted, all he cared about, it was his vocation, it was the point of his long years of mortification, the reason for his preaching and baptism; he was a man of one idea—the Christ is coming, I must manifest Him to the people. This man came for a witness to give testimony of the Light (verse 7). When the people wondering asked him: Art thou the Christ? Art thou Elias? Art thou the prophet? his answer was: No, I am only a voice proclaiming His coming. I, He? Oh, no, I am not worthy to be His slave. He is the Light, the Light of the whole world. "I saw the Spirit coming down as a dove from Heaven and He remained upon Him.... And I saw; and I gave testimony that this is the Son of God" (verses 32-34).

Let me look at my preparation for His coming this Advent and see whether I am in any way following in the footsteps of the great Precursor. Can I be said to be a person of one idea—that of manifesting my Lord to others? When people want to make much of me and my work and ask who I am, is my one thought to turn their eyes from me to Him Who is coming? Am I really persuaded that I am only here to make Him manifest? Is He being made manifest to others through me? Do those with whom I come in contact leave me, with a greater knowledge of Him, with a greater desire for His coming, with more anxiety about the salvation of their souls and with more zeal for that of others? Do my words and deeds, does my very manner, speak to them of Him and make them think of Him? "Art thou the Christ?" In one sense, yes, for I am or ought to be another Christ (alter Christus), living His life, doing His work and representing Him in the world.

Point II. "Behold the Lamb of God."

This is He, behold Him! He is the Lamb of God. He it is to whom all the lambs that have been sacrificed point; their blood could not wash away sin, but "behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world." You are sorry for your sins, you have confessed them and I have baptized you as a sign that they are forgiven, now there is One among you who takes them away. Behold the Lamb of God! This was what John said when he saw Jesus the day after His baptism; he said the same thing the next day when he saw Him walking by the Jordan; two of his disciples were with him, Andrew and John (probably), and when they saw their master pointing to Jesus and saying: "Behold the Lamb of God!" they did what John meant them to do, they left their master and followed Him. How well had the faithful Precursor prepared the way in their hearts! How thoroughly he had done his work! How absolutely he had effaced himself! There was no doubt, no hesitation in the minds of his disciples, no wondering whether John would mind; "they followed Jesus," and John had the joy of seeing Jesus turn and speak to them: "What seek you?" And then the joy of hearing them call Him Master. "Master, where dwellest Thou?" "Come and see." Then the Friend of the Bridegroom saw the three going away together, and he knew that his mission had not been in vain, the Bride was beginning to join the Bridegroom.

Point III. "He that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom."

It was not for nothing that Andrew and John spent that day with Jesus. They told others what they had found: "We have found the Messias, which is being interpreted the Christ," and they brought their companions one by one to Jesus, with the result that very soon the Baptism of the Holy Ghost was taking place in the Jordan as well as the Baptism of Penance, and the people instructed by John left the less for the greater.

There were "busybodies," as St. Paul calls them (1 Tim. v. 13), even in those days, people who could not let others alone, who could not understand the situation or pretended that they could not; they "came to John and said to him: Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to Whom thou gavest testimony, behold He baptizeth and all men come to Him" (St. John iii. 26). They were words calculated to stir up jealousy and ill-feeling; but John was too humble and too great to be disturbed by them, his answer was characteristic: "You yourselves do bear me witness, that I said that I am not Christ, but that I am sent before Him. He that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom." There is the proof that all I have been telling you is true. He has the Bride, the people all go to Him, you see for yourselves that He must be the Bridegroom; "but the Friend of the Bridegroom, who standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth with joy because of the Bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled." It was enough for "the Friend of the Bridegroom" to hear His Master's voice. The necessity for him and his preaching was fast passing away and he knew it. He had been for a time the great man, the popular preacher, the one every one talked about, whose advice everyone sought, now he must stand aside and see his disciples gather round another master, himself not in the group at all. It is a position most workers in God's vineyard find themselves in sooner or later, they have to give place to others, to watch others reaping the fruit of their labours, to see those whom they have taught going to other teachers, those who have sought their advice seeking it elsewhere. How do they bear this difficult situation? How am I going to bear it when my turn comes? Am I going to pose as a martyr, craving for and expecting every one's sympathy? Am I going to put difficulties in the way of those who succeed me, and make it hard for those to whom it has been my privilege to minister? Some are even jealous and show their displeasure by criticizing those who succeed them! What was John's attitude? All he wanted was his Master and His Will. He was the "Friend of the Bridegroom." He was satisfied to stand on one side, and his cup of joy was full when he heard his Master's Voice. "He must increase" in the minds of the people "and I must decrease." Let me learn a lesson from John the Baptist and make my sacrifice beforehand, remembering that nothing matters so long as I am the friend of the Bridegroom, can hear His Voice and see the souls I have tried to help following Him. These are joys, real joys, and they are perhaps never fully realized till the cool shade of the background is reached.

Point IV. John's Testimony of himself.