Overview:

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

A Reflection for Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Mt 11:11-12)

Find today’s readings here.

Most of us want to believe that, had we been born in a different time or place, we would have been “on the right side of history.” We would have fought for the Union, opposed fascism, marched with Martin Luther King Jr. 

Of course, statistically speaking, most of us would not be at the forefront of the moral revolution of any given age. Prophets are rare, and usually deeply unpopular. They make us uncomfortable.

Which brings me to John the Baptist. Had I been alive in the first century, would I have listened to the wild man in strange clothes, eating locusts and yelling about repentance? 

It’s not that hard to imagine how I would have responded 2,000 years ago. It is a fairly regular occurrence on the New York City subway system to encounter men and women in strange clothes, with little to eat, yelling about God, or their pain or something I can’t really understand. It can be uncomfortable. And too often my response is simply to turn the podcast I’m listening to up a little louder. 

John the Baptist told those who listened that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and warned of a “coming judgment.” Those struggling with homelessness, addiction or mental illness tell those who listen that while the kingdom is coming, it’s not entirely here yet. The world is afflicted by sin and injustice, and we live in a culture that treats some people as if they are disposable. 

John the Baptist is imprisoned when Jesus says that there has been no one born of women greater than he. The powers that be would rather not listen to his ravings. Plenty of the men and women I meet on the subway have likely met or will meet a similar fate at some point. In a broken world, I concede that will sometimes be the least bad option. But among those whom we would rather not see or listen to in this world will be “the least in the Kingdom of heaven,” who, Jesus said, are even greater than John.

And he says to us today: “Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Ashley McKinless is an executive editor at America and co-host of the ‘Jesuitical’ podcast.