Overview:

Saturday after Epiphany

A Reflection for Saturday after Epiphany

Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,
where he spent some time with them baptizing. 
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned. 
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings. 
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him. 
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. 
So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.” (John 3:22-30)

Find today’s readings here.

John the Baptist is one of my favorite figures in the Gospels. I greatly enjoy the way he self-characterizes himself as Jesus’ “best man” in his wedding analogy. That’s not an analogy to be taken lightly, either! It would be a massive faux pas to call yourself someone’s presumptive best man; one would have to be awfully close to a person in order to say such a thing. Thankfully, there is much in the Gospels to back this up.

We first learn of John the Baptist early on, before Jesus is even born. When Mary goes to visit her older relative Elizabeth, who has managed to become pregnant in spite of her advanced age, the narrative focuses on John for the first time. As Mary herself is already pregnant with Jesus here, we bear witness to one of the sweetest moments in the Gospels: John leaps for joy in her womb because he is near the savior. This is the first indication of Christ’s friendship with his cousin John. Later, of course, John becomes the point man for Jesus, the one who prepares the way for him ahead of and during his ministry. John always speaks very fondly and familiarly of Jesus, which tells us a lot. The two must have been close.

There are few family members of Jesus highlighted in the Gospels, but outside of Mary, John the Baptist is perhaps the most significant. He is, in many ways, very different from Jesus. He is a so-called wild man, dressed in camel’s hair and living in the wilderness, baptizing those who come to him in the rivers of Judea. One of those people included Christ himself who humbly cedes the role of baptizer to John. His cousin got the privilege of ushering in the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and even bore witness to the heavens parting ways and God the Father announcing how pleased he is with his son. It must have been a tremendous experience for John.

I have always enjoyed scripture passages regarding John because he feels like such a fully-realized person. Much of the early parts of the Gospels concern him and, it seems that he was famous in the early Church as well. He has a variety of quirks and a story with a clear beginning and end—one tied inexorably to the fulfillment of God’s promise to humanity. It also foreshadows and parallels Jesus’ own story: unlikely circumstances of birth that then lead to a life of ministry and inevitable martyrdom.

More importantly, he has a close familial connection to Jesus that is unique in the Gospel narrative. It is clear the two care for each other deeply. John is always there to prop up Jesus. He points out that he is not the Christ and that he is there to prepare the way for him. Jesus meanwhile makes it very clear by requesting that John baptize him that John is far more significant than he makes himself out to be. These two men make sure to promote the other whether they are together or apart. The two are model family members to each other: They are humble and loving and do not forget to make sure the other knows they are important.

The next time that you are with a close friend or family member, seek to be like John the Baptist. Prepare the way for your loved ones and make sure they know they are loved. We are all on this same journey of discipleship together, after all, and even Jesus needed support to get started.

Kevin Christopher Robles is the studio production associate at America. He was previously an O'Hare Fellow and intern.