CALLED TO TAKE OUR PLACE IN JESUS CHRIST

THE BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

1 Cor 1:1-9; Ps 145:2-7; Mk 6:17-29

We have been called to take our place in Jesus Christ

In the opening prayer of today’s celebration, the Church affirms that John the Baptist was chosen to go before the Lord both in his birth and death. The choice of John for this role means adequate graces were given to him to accomplish his mission. We are all chosen for the role we are to play in the salvation of people. God calls us and gives us the necessary graces to accomplish his purposes. To accomplish his mission, John was consecrated in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. Our consecration was not in the womb but at our baptism. The water of baptism was to represent the end of our living according to our will, and an initiation into the life of Jesus Christ in the one Spirit of God. John’s consecration was once and for the rest of his life. The same ought to apply to our life also. Our baptismal consecration to God is not ceremonial, but a life-changing commitment to God for our lifetime. St. Paul expresses this clearly in his first letter to the Corinthians. He referred to them as holy people called to take their place among the saints in Jesus Christ. This holiness applies to us also for we are equally called and consecrated to God through baptism. This holiness is not because of anything we have done but by the virtue of our consecration. We are holy by participation in the one Holy Spirit given to us all to drink or accommodate.

We are holy if the Holy Spirit of God has made his home in us. Hence, St. Paul reminded us in this same letter that our body is sacred by this same fact, it must not be used for any impure activity. A holy body presupposes a holy soul housed in it and a pure spirit that is giving life to our soul by its participation in the Holy Spirit. This sequence shows the flow of holiness from God to us. Our spirits desire the will of the Father, revealed through Jesus Christ in the Spirit; the desire purifies our souls of impurities, thereby enlivening our bodies to carry out the will of the Father. This is how the graces and riches of God come to the saints to prepare them to accomplish the work of God on earth. “I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through Jesus Christ. I thank him that you have been enriched in so many ways, especially in your teachers and preachers.” Our teaching and preaching are first and foremost in our lives as Christians. The type of life we live showcases Jesus Christ most before our words do. Hence, we are told in the Gospel that, though Herodias was furious with John the Baptist, she could do nothing to him because Herod was afraid of John due to his holiness of life. John’s holiness was founded on his consecration and sustained by his manner of life. As we mentioned in yesterday’s reflection, our communion with the Holy Spirit means our works extend the divine work in the world through the Church.

Paul praised the Corinthian community for living Christ’s life. The communal and individual lives of the Christians made a strong impact on society. “The witness to Christ has indeed been strong among you so that you will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful.” This re-iterates our position that Jesus Christ comes to commune with his faithful, which prepares them for his coming in glory. Because John’s whole life was a continuous bearing of witness to the truth, he was not afraid to lay down his life for the truth. The Eucharistic communion we celebrate daily is meant to foster this habitual consecration and assimilation into Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. At the celebration, the Gospel is summarily presented to us, and our union with Jesus Christ is renewed by our participation in his offering of himself to the Father for the salvation of others. The purpose of our offering and consecration is that the world may know the will and love of God the Father. “They will speak of your terrible deeds, recount your greatness and might. They will recall your abundant goodness; age to age shall ring out your justice.”

Let us pray: O God, who willed that Saint John the Baptist should go ahead of your Son both in his birth and in his death, grant that, as he died a Martyr for truth and justice, we, too, may fight hard for the confession of what you teach.