Back in the second week of Advent, John the Baptist made an appearance in the gospel reading; today, in the Octave of Christmas, he's back. This time he's being questioned by the religious leaders about who it is that he thinks he is, and his answers are direct - not the Christ, not Elijah, not the prophet-like-Moses. But he certainly isn't bashful about who he believes himself to be - nothing less than the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy: 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "prepare the way of the Lord - make straight His path!"' 

The religious leaders press him further - 'if you're not the Christ or Elijah or the prophet, then why do you baptize?' It's a fair question - if you're going to challenge the embedded religious order of a thousand years, you'd better be able to name the source of your authority. And John does, not by pointing to the past, but by pointing to the future - to the One who is coming after him, the One he isn't worthy to be even a slave to. Later, when Jesus comes down to the Jordan, John will point Him out: 'Look - there is the Lamb of God!' That kind of language would certainly have gotten the attention of his Jewish contemporaries. They knew what the lamb signified - sacrifice and salvation. This is the One that John claims as the source of authority for his baptismal ministry and, in fact, for his entire existence. He has no relevance without this One who comes after.....

We began the new year yesterday celebrating Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother; today we see again the fiery herald of Jesus, John the Baptizer. What better models of total commitment could we have as we start out in this new year?