“...the one who is coming after me...”
Why was John the Baptist called to proclaim His coming? In the Gospel reading, the people asked John the Baptist who he was, and the first thing he clarified was that he is not the Christ, the Anointed One. John the Baptist’s mission was that of repentance and preparation for the one who was to be the Christ, Jesus. John the Baptist understood his role to baptize with water and to have the people of Israel repent from their sins. John the Baptist knew that Jesus, the Anointed One, would come to baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Saint John the Baptist is very clear to tell everyone that he is not the one who is important. The one who is coming after him is the important one. In other words, he is saying, “You haven’t seen anything yet!”
Saint John the Baptist was great, what makes Jesus so much better? John the Baptist is only a man. Jesus is true God and true man. We profess in the Nicene Creed, “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God.” What does begotten mean? “When Jesus calls himself ‘God’s only-begotten Son’ and Peter and others bear witness to this, the expression means that of all human beings only Jesus is more than a man and has a unique relationship to God, his Father.” [1]
Jesus is true God and true man. As true God, Jesus is begotten of the Father. This means He has a unique relationship with His Father that none of us share. As God, Jesus and the Father are one. In this unique relationship with the Father, Jesus is an “only son” and has no siblings; He alone shares the Father’s love. This is explained in the first verses of John’s Gospel when he says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race…”. [2] As true man, Jesus is born of the Virgin Mary and therefore being born in time and as a human, taking on flesh, He can now call all of humanity His brothers and sisters.
It is only because God became man that we are now able to share in the Father’s love and can truly call God, “Our Father.” This is why at Mass the priest says, “At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say:” [3] We only dare to do this because Jesus Christ is God, and became man, we are now able to call God, Father and to call Jesus our brother. We are also now able to call others “brothers and sisters” in Christ Jesus. This is why in the Penitential Act of the Mass, the priest will say, “Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins, and prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.” [4] The congregation then says, “I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters…” [5] We should give more thought to these words at Mass. We should remind ourselves why it is that we are brothers and sisters with one another and why we are able to address God as “Our Father”. Both of these are only a possibility because God became flesh. It is for this reason that Saint John Baptist was telling people that someone would come who would be greater than himself. Saint John the Baptist was not able to make all of humanity “brothers and sisters” nor was he able to unite humanity to God, enabling them to cry out “Our Father”.
It is Christ that brings us to glory. How glorious to call God “Father” and Jesus “Brother”. “For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers,’ saying: ‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly I will praise you’” [6]
We must also remember that our title as “brothers” gives us a type of hierarchy and humility. This title reminds us that we are human and Jesus, Our Lord and Master, is human and is God. We can never lift up another “brother or sister” giving them a “godlike” status. Pagans have done so, and in our culture we do it as well when we elevate celebrities and/or athletes to the status of a god. “As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.” [7] Even after Jesus is resurrected from the dead, He calls us brothers. “Do not be afraid. God tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” His Resurrection proves that He is the Son of God, and the His words after the Resurrection give testimony that we remain His brothers as He sits at the right hand of the Father, now by Grace, “Our Father”.
How do we get to call God “Father” and Jesus “Brother”? “If any man be outside the Church he will be excluded from the number of sons, and will not have God for Father since he has not the Church for mother.” [8] Saint Cyprian was the first to state the necessity of the Church as Mother when he said, “He can no longer have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother.” It is through the Church that we get to call God “Father” and Jesus “Brother”.
How is the Church our Mother? The Church is the “Bride of Christ”. They were married and unified together at Calvary and through His Resurrection. The Church is the means by which all are able to become sons and daughters of Christ. The Church is where we are born again in Baptism. “Baptism, the gateway to the sacraments and necessary for salvation…Through baptism men and women are freed from sin, are reborn as children of God, and, configured to Christ by an indelible character, are incorporated into the Church.” [9] The Church is like a womb for the soul. The Church in her Sacraments sustains the life of souls. Once the soul is born (Baptism) it needs to be strengthened or made firm (Confirmation) and needs to be nourished (Eucharist). This soul, when sick needs to be healed (Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick). The soul, just like a child, needs to learn what its purpose is. What will it do when it grows up? How will it serve God and others? (Marriage and Holy Orders). This soul is not alone; it has the Church as its Mother and Mary as its Mother, since she is the Mother of the Church. It has God as its Father. It has Jesus, and all those who lived the Life of Christ, the Saints, as its siblings.
[1] Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (YouCat) Section 74
[2] Jn. 1:1-4
[3] The Order of the Mass
[4] The Order of the Mass; Penitential Act
[5] The Order of the Mass; Penitential Act
[6] Hebrews 2:10-12
[7] Matthew 23:8
[8] Saint Augustine
[9] Code of Canon Law; Can. 849