The person of John the Baptist is the focus of these Advent reflections because he was the one who lost his head for his preaching. What can we learn from him? Let’s look at his preaching to see:
John had a very vivid insight into the effects of evil, particularly the evil of insincere people. Jesus surely picks up on this insight in his coining the phrase “play-actors” (hypocrites) as the word to describe people who present a pious, appealing image of themselves to others while harboring within their souls an entirely different attitude, one of harshness towards others who do not see life the way they do. This hypocrisy led John to name it right then and there, right in the face of the play-actors: "Brood of vipers! Who told you to flee from the wrath that is to come?"
Insincerity is the poison in the well of us who are given the privilege of bearing witness to Jesus as members of His Church. When we bear witness faithfully, we can be the Lord’s instrument to reach people who are starving for God -- and bring meaning to their lives and their sufferings and to bring hope in an age of fear and terror.
But if the well is poisoned by insincerity, if the well is poisoned by a preferential desire to win favor with the listeners, what will our listeners hear? The hollow ring of a noisy gong. They will not encounter the living God but instead a pleasing melody to occupy some time and turn the listeners’ hearts away from facing whatever in their lives is keeping them from the Lord. An unwillingness to call evil what it really is, is that poison in the well that makes our Christian witness and words fall on rocky ground.
For instance, some progressives want to talk about social injustice and avoid the babe in the womb. And some conservatives can see nothing but the babe in the womb. And frequently enough, many of those who care about the plight of the poor, and have concern for the environment, care little about sexual ethics. And how many of all of us have a stance on one issue after another but miss the beam in our own eye on how materialism has taken over our lives?
The charism of John the Baptist was to call a spade a spade; and whether it was the king marrying his sister-in-law or the soldier taking advantage of the people, he was able to put his finger on the exact issue that needed to be faced. Oh, you who pointed out Jesus as the Lamb, pray for us to have the integrity of witnessing to the full Word of God, not just the aspects that make us satisfied.
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