Reading I
1 Jn 5:14-21
Beloved:
We have this confidence in him
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.
We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against idols.
Gospel
Jn 3:22-30
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,
where he spent some time with them baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned.
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
So this joy of mine has been made complete.
He must increase; I must decrease.”
Meditation: John 3:22-30
Wedding receptions in many parts of the world require the best man to offer a toast in honor of the groom.
Though sometimes a mere formality, this short speech is often a moving witness of brotherly love, with one friend rejoicing at another friend’s happiness. You might call it a “John the Baptist moment,” for in today’s Gospel, we see John delighting in his supporting role as Jesus’ “best man.”
In first-century Palestine, though, this close friend was responsible for far more than a toast. It was his job to oversee the whole wedding and to ensure that the bride was properly escorted to the groom. John remarked that the best man “stands and listens” for the bridegroom (John 3:29). Is the best man keeping watch at the bride’s house, alert for the sound of the groom approaching in a wedding procession? Is he standing guard at the groom’s house—perhaps even outside the nuptial bedroom—after escorting the couple there?
Interpretations differ, but the point is clear enough: John is like the best friend who rejoices at having contributed to a happy union. John’s baptism has prepared a people that Jesus the Bridegroom has come to claim, and so John rejoices.
God isn’t calling most of us to go out into the wilderness like John the Baptist. But he does invite each of us to prepare the way for other people to come to Jesus. Of course, this will only happen if we are friends with Jesus and love him ourselves. Friendship with God—who could have imagined such a privilege? Yet the Father sent his Son for nothing less than this. And Jesus himself issued the invitation and showed us the way: “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14).
Today, then, let’s deepen our friendship with Jesus by opening ourselves more fully to the Holy Spirit. Let’s seek to widen his circle of friends by imitating John and witnessing to the people around us. What joy will be ours—and theirs—both in this life and at the great wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7)!
“Holy Spirit, you filled John the Baptist with your love and empowered him to prepare the way of the Lord. Help me to follow his example of joyful, faithful service. Draw me closer to Jesus so that I can draw others to him too.”
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