John the Baptist’s conduct

Do you recall the scenes recounted in the Gospel of John the Baptist’s preaching? What a lot of gossip there was going on! Is he the Christ? Is he Elijah? Is he a Prophet? So many rumours were flying around that the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” (John 1:19).

For someone with little supernatural outlook, it might seem that John the Baptist wasted an opportunity to win converts. He could even have answered with the testimony which Jesus was to give of him: ipse est Elias, qui venturus est. Qui habet aures audiendi audiat (Matt 11:14-15); he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Those who went to ask John, however, lacked the dispositions needed to understand those words correctly. He confessed and did not deny… “I am not the Christ … I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness” (John 1:20, 23). Truly, his words resounded in a wilderness. Those who seemed to be seeking the truth refused to listen to it.

Gossip, astonishment, fear, envy

The same happened when Jesus began his public life: gossip, astonishment, fear, envy… The Gospel tells us that the news about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country (Luke 7:17). The stories also reached the followers of John the Baptist. The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Luke 7:18-19).

How beautiful is John the Baptist’s way of acting! How pure, noble and disinterested! He really is preparing the ways of the Lord. His disciples know Christ only by hearsay, and he urges them to talk with the Master. He points him out to them and prompts them to get to know him, and he offers them the opportunity to admire the wonders Jesus works: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them (Luke 7:22).

Being informed before giving an opinion

Like John, my children, we must always have the fortitude to make sure we are well informed before making up our mind. And we have to teach everyone to do likewise, and not allow themselves to be taken in by appearances or gossip. To describe someone as upright and blameless in their behaviour, although this be true, it is, unfortunately, unremarkable and doesn’t attract attention. But if you attribute to them Machiavellian schemes or other intrigues, although this be untrue, it will attract attention and be repeated, at least as a hypothesis or rumour.