In today’s gospel we heard how John was given his name – a name, which means, "The Lord is gracious," or better still, "The Lord shows favor." What we did not hear in that particular passage reading, however, was that after John was given his name, his father, Zechariah, offered a beautiful prayer of thanks and praise to God, which is always included in the Church’s Morning Prayer, which clergy are obligated to recite daily. Within this prayer, Zechariah said to his son, "You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Host High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins."

John the Baptist is a link between the Old Testament and the New Testament; the last of the great prophets of old and the first of the new. He is the warm-up artist, if you will, the one whose role it is to warm up the audience for the star of the show. As St. Paul said in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, John’s role was to prepare the way; "He proclaimed a baptism of repentance," but he was not the one to bring salvation. In the end it was the saving baptism of Jesus, which would save him just as it will save us all who respond to his call.

Today’s liturgy makes it evident that John’s work of making Jesus known must be carried on. The question is, who will do it?

The prophets before John could only promise the coming of the Savior, but John, however, made him known when he came. That is our work as well; the continuing work that each of us is called to – even if our manner of doing it must be different. Each of us should ask ourselves the question – if John lived my life, how would he use it to make Jesus known?

When John was a young man he went off into the desert to fast and pray so that he might prepare himself to carry out his calling. We cannot make Jesus known unless we pray and learn to know him ourselves. So well did John come to know the mystery of Jesus that he claimed that he was not even worthy to remove the Lord’s sandals. So well did John come to know Jesus that the first time he publicly pointed him out, he cried, "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." It was as early as that when John knew and hinted of the great mystery and the great terror of Calvary, which was to come. Even today, it is unfortunate that many Christians do not fully grasp well the mystery, that suffering characterizes the work of salvation for Jesus and for us all. In other words, to serve others, we must sacrifice, and to serve the truth we must sometimes endure persecution.

It is no coincidence that the birthday of John the Baptist relates to the birthday of Jesus. The Church selected the time of the celebration of both based not on their actual dates of birth, but rather on certain times of the year, which are symbolic. The winter solstice was selected to celebrate the birth of Jesus because that is when the length of the days gradually begins to grow longer; that is, the amount of daylight increases on a daily basis. The summer solstice was selected to celebrate John’s birth because from this time on the days begin to gradually grow shorter; that is, the amount of daylight begins to diminish on a daily basis. This symbolizes the words of John the Baptist in speaking of Jesus, "He must increase while I must decrease." In truth, John the Baptist is the true role model of zeal and lowliness for all of us to emulate. In fact, in his own words we hear Jesus describe John the Baptist: "There is no man born of woman that is greater than he."

John the Baptist was the first to witness to Christ as the savior of the world. He is a pillar of our faith, and a reminder that the task of making Christ known has been passed on to us. He became a "light to the nations," and so must we.

Each time, at Mass, just before Communion time, when we say the words, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world," we hear the prophetic words of John teaching us even still. And then, when we receive the Eucharist, we know that Jesus is now in our souls, and St. John is utterly happy and glad to now be forgotten. But let us never forget St. John’s words, "He must increase, and I must decrease," and how that is only possible if we – each of us -- continue to daily carry on John’s work of preparing the way of the Lord.