John the Baptist was the one – to proclaim the coming of the One. Jesus. The Messiah. Today we celebrate him, and we celebrate his role in proclaiming the arrival of Jesus as the one to save us all. John was the one that pulled the curtains back and opened up the windows for His Light to shine.
Can you do that? Can you be Christ’s conduit into the world, and proclaim Him, and perhaps be Him to others? I hope so, because that is what we are called to do. And there is no more important time for this than the present.
I think a lot of us are afraid to open the door to July. We’ve been slammed with so much this year. COVID-19. The Black Lives Matter protests. Swarms of locusts in parts of Africa and Asia. Statues are coming down left and right. Most justified. Some not. Our rights have been infringed upon – both from the pandemic and from racism. Our Church has changed, and I’m not sure for the better.
Pandemic. Plague. Civil unrest.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that was made out to be like a presidential campaign sticker… It said, “Giant Meteor, 2020”. This year, anything goes, I guess.
But was it not the same way in John the Baptist’s day? It was actually worse in many respects. The Jewish people had less freedoms. Life was harder.
Me? I may have to wear a mask in the grocery store or in Mass, but I still have my cozy house, a good job, a surplus of goods and services around me and my gigabit internet.
I am a White male of privilege in a country that recognizes that. I don’t know what it’s like to be Black, to be afraid anytime I walk alone, to be afraid for who I am. I’ve had many, deep online discussions with a Black friend of mine about this in recent weeks and she has educated me on this. She has helped me to see the light in this regard, and identified things that I can do to make a difference.
She, like so many others, has pulled open those curtains and helped me to see the light.
Who are we – who are you – in this crisis? Are you the light to others, helping them to rip open those curtains and see the light? Are you in the dark, unknowingly blinded, but seeking to be enlightened? Or are you simply upset and angry at the situation and oblivious to those suffering around you?
We will be stronger through this. COVID – it will come, and it will go. Maybe we’ll get a vaccine. Maybe we won’t. Maybe it won’t even work. It may become a seasonal thing that we simply have to deal with.
But these racial issues, this injustice, it divides us. And a divided house cannot stand. And these issues have been with us since the inception of the United States, and really throughout history in one way or another.
We are divided by race. We are divided by politics. We are divided in our response to COIVD. And we are divided in the Church, in our faith. There is so much division. And it’s not so much through blatant actions, but rather it is systemic. It is systemic throughout politics, throughout society, and yes, throughout our Church.
It may hurt to hear this. But this is the world we live in today. And to be honest – it is about time for change to occur, on many levels.
We have looked to so many things to please us, to make us feel better. The material things. The emotional things. But this year, we should see that none of that matters. None of that brings light into our life.
We see all the suffering and death from COVID and these protests and through disasters throughout the world. And we can be overcome by that.
Or, we can look at all the love that comes from these. The people helping others, the peaceful protests of people of all colors, lovingly protesting, marching side-by-side with police to make a point. We can look at the good police, of whom there are so many, who make a difference.
We can look upon that person before us with loving eyes, caring about their life, seeing the beauty within them, and yet, acknowledging and seeking to understand their fears, their anger, and their struggles.
And the only way to do this, is through Christ. Some may think that all hell is breaking loose and society is crumbling, and the world is coming to its end. Or, you may look at this year, and see this as a renewal, a new beginning.
It’s going to be tough. I don’t have the answers, I don’t know anyone with the answers, except One – Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the One.
But each of us need to be the one to bring His Light into the world.
