“These are the words of John, when the Jewish priests and Levites came from Jerusalem to ask him who he was. He said, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ They said, ‘Who then are you? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ They said, ‘Are you a prophet?’ He said, ‘No.’ They said, ‘Who then are you? What shall we say to those who sent us?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the paths of the LORD.’Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.’ Now those who were sent were Pharisees, and they said to him, ‘Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ John answered, ‘I baptize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ This happened in Bethany, where John was baptizing” (John 1:19-28). The Baptist, as the Precursor of Jesus, was much harassed by the People, thirsty and hungry for what He taught, because He spoke what God determined and what they needed to hear. In the same way that today, at that time, there were also false prophets and fake Messiahs. The Jewish leaders, seeing the works that John was doing for the needy and marginalized who sought him, wanted to know who he was, because the population considered him to be the ‘New Elijah’ or one of the prophets. Knowing who he was, he went straight to the point, saying that he was only the ‘Voice Crying in the Desert’, in order to alert everyone, so that they would ‘make straight the paths of the Lord, because His Kingdom was near’. He did not want honor or glory from Elijah or any of the prophets. Prophets, He only fulfills the mission of announcing the Messiah in fact and law, whose sandal straps He is not worthy of untying. John leads the people to conversion through water baptism and repentance that produces a change in life. He also warns them that the real and true Messiah is already among them. However, their stubbornness and closed hearts prevent them from seeing Him. Christ Jesus, the just, faithful, holy and loving God, is among us, in body, blood and divinity, in the sacrament of the Eucharist. It is the materialization of the same Christ, consubstantial with the Father, alive and resurrected, who comes to help us in our lack of faith, insignificance, misery and stubbornness. Are you ready to receive Him or meet Him?
