John the Baptist was chosen by God to be one of His greatest prophets. As a baby he was helpless and needy. As a prophet, he displayed the same humility and need for God. Prophets are humble. They understand that without God's grace, they are nothing. The Precursor's birth speaks of the proximity of Christmas. The Lord is at hand! When asked who he was, he said: «I am the voice crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord» (Jn 1:23). John’s life teaches us the virtues we need to receive Jesus properly; fundamentally, humility of the heart. He acknowledges himself as an instrument of God, to fulfill his vocation, his mission.
His humility has deeply impressed Christians through the ages. Before anyone had heard of Jesus of Nazareth, people were coming distances to see John the Baptist. Yet he pointed to Jesus and away from himself. “He must increase, I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). John actually encouraged his disciples to leave him and follow the Lamb of God.
We, too, are anointed with the grace to be prophets. We testify to this grace through embracing a truly humble attitude before God and our neighbor. No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor. The self-sufficient, the proud, those who think they have no need even of God, for them there will be no Christmas. Only the poor in spirit, those who hunger for God, those who need someone to come on their behalf, will have that someone. That someone is our Emmanuel, our God-with-us.
It is necessary to examine ourselves to see how we are preparing ourselves to receive Jesus this Christmas.
The virtue of humility will help us to prepare ourselves for the coming festivities appropriately. Because we are celebrating the feast of someone who was born in a manger, not in magnificent palace.
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