JMJT! Praise be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Carmel-
What a beautiful solemnity we celebrate today with the birth of John the Baptist! How many wonderful reminders the Baptist can give us of our own calling in Carmel. As the fore-runner of our Savior, Jesus Christ, John was a curious character. As one who lived in the desert, ate locusts and honey, and was compared to Elijah, he was no ordinary man. His unusual life of obedience to Our Lord gives us the following nuggets for our Carmelite journey:
1. True humility: Although eccentric, John was not in this for his own fame, attention, or notoriety. He was truly a servant of the Lord, who was to announce the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world' and was to prepare the Jews for the one who would baptise not just with water, but with the Holy Spirit. Two lines exemplify his profound humility and obedience to God's Will. When baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River, he states, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" Again, in his final witness of recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and after being informed that people are beginning to follow and go to Jesus instead of him, John humbly remarks, "Noone can can receive anything except what has been given in heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Messiah, 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. He must increase; I must decrease." (Jn 3:28-30)
As Carmelites, we are called to the hidden life. We are to bring the love and mercy of Christ to all we meet, wherever God has planted us. We must continue to strive to allow Him to shine through us, and to lose our egos, false selves, along with our plans and agendas and allow Our Lord to shift our lives as He sees fit. This is having true spiritual freedom! To be able to move and bend with Him wherever He asks us to be is to imitate St. John the Baptist, along with Our Lady and the prophets, apostles, and disciples.
2. Simplicity: OK. I don't think most of us are up for living on a diet of locusts and honey, and wearing camel hair. At least, I won't be the first to sign up! Nonetheless, the Baptist's simplicity is certainly something that we can ponder. He was not attached to earthly possessions, so he was free to go wherever the Spirit of the Lord led him. He was able to listen to the still, small voice of the Lord, in the spirit of Our Lady and Elijah, due to his quiet and uncluttered life. Perhaps we can consider simplifying even one part of our lives. Maybe it is getting rid of a bunch of items of clothing that we no longer use, or tackling the stuff piled in the garage, or throwing away the mass of newspapers and magazines we have been storing up 'just in case.' Many times these are attachments that are hindering us from further union with God. At times, we can offer the natural, physical sacrifice of purging in an area of our lives, while asking God to purge and simplify our interior selves.
3. Truthfulness: It is probably safe to say, that for many years St. John the Baptist was living a very quiet life. But when he was called to act and to begin his ministry of baptizing to remove sins, he accepted in a spirit of obedience. Furthermore, he did not mince words when he saw injustice, hypocrisy, or moral wrongs. This man was not shy! The first word out of his mouth to the public was 'Repent!' He called many of the Sadducees and Pharisees a 'brood of vipers'. We know that the Baptist's life would eventually be ended when he refused to go along with King Herod's illicit relationship.
What would happen if we turned to someone living a life of deep moral decay, and yelled out 'repent'? Now I am not suggesting that we go out and shout these words to the first person on the street. This is not our call. But perhaps someone is quietly approaching you, and asking for advice because their life is a mess. You can see that so much is due to sin or past decisions. Many of us have been there! This is a beautiful way of inviting someone to confess sins, to truly repent. If we gently invite someone to this, in what ways might their lives change? Instead, we are so often afraid to say anything. By staying silent when the Spirit might be nudging us to invite this person to healing in mind, body, soul, and spirit we are truly preventing freedom for that person. We are helping them to remain imprisoned. The Carmelite charism is to share the Face of Christ and His love, and to do so in a contemplative and active way.
Let's consider this the next time we have the opportunity to share Jesus' Divine Mercy. Scripture tells us that the truth will set us free! Let's not trap ourselves or others when we are given the opportunity to share the Good News! That Jesus Christ lives now and Forever! That He has taken away our sins by his Passion and Death and opened the gates to new life through His Resurrection. 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!' Amen.
