Christmas Weekday, Saturday – 11thJanuary 2020 — Gospel: John 3,22-30
Joy in recognizing bridegroom’s voice
During his years in the wilderness, John the Baptist discovered that prayer was not a matter of sitting still while God recounted his failings and issued heartless commands. Instead, he discovered that prayer was a matter of listening for “the bridegroom’s voice” and finding great joy when he heard it (3,29). In today’s gospel, John is not only presented as a man of great passion but also of great humility. He was a man who was eager to finally meet the Messiah and then stand aside alone so that Jesus could now take center stage. He had seen the Lord, and that was enough for him. His joy was complete. When the disciples of John thought that the man whom John baptized stands in competition with him he corrects them. He tells them that his very ministry of baptism was for the purpose of revealing the true identity of Jesus, the bridegroom. In Jesus, John recognized the voice of hope and love, a voice of tenderness and yearning, and a voice of acceptance and friendship.
