Fr.
Joseph Nguyen, O.P.
Seeing John the Baptist baptizing by the Jordan
river , the Jews were surprised and somehow scandalized. They
wanted to know for sure who he was. John did not deny, but admitted that he was
neither the Christ, nor the Savior sent from God. He confessed saying that “I am
the voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make
straight his paths. I baptize you with water; but there is one among you whom
you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am
not worthy to untie.”
If John wanted to take to himself the honor that belongs to Jesus
Christ, perhaps there would be no better opportunity than this. But John was
not that mean, because he was a man of honesty. He took this as a chance to
certify his humble role as being simply a forerunner who prepared the way for
Jesus Christ, and only Jesus Christ
himself was the one sent by God and who came to save the world. The problem was
that Jesus Christ, the Savior had been among the Israel people for quite a long
time, but regrettably they did not recognize him. They had seen Jesus Christ
doing miracles, healing sick people, feeding the hungry, expelling the devil,
even raising the dead to life, yet they did not believe him.
The same thing is happening today, though Jesus Christ has been present
in the world for more than two thousand years, there are still many people who
do not recognize him, or they recognize him but do not believe him. Millions of
pagans, atheists and unbelievers strongly deny him, others mistrust him or only
believe him half-way. Nevertheless, no matter whether he were received by
people or not, Jesus Christ is still the one sent by God who has come to bring
the Good News of salvation to the world.
Talking about the joy and happiness Jesus Christ has brougth to us, St Paul exhorts us :”Brothers
and sisters, rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again : rejoice. The Lord is
near” Indeed, there are no
reasons whatsoever for us to be sad or worried in this time of Christmas, for
this is the season of happiness and joy, as we listen to the following
Christmas carol :Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth
and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.
Fr. Joseph Nguyen, O.P.
