Concentrating on Jesus during Advent

FOCUS ON JESUS

Jn. 1:6-8, 19-28

John the Baptist was a man whose whole life was focused on Jesus. All he wanted was to build a strong relationship with Him that would grow and grow. He also wanted others to know and follow Jesus.

God had called him for one purpose and that was to prepare the people of Israel for the coming of His Son. He was aware that this was his task and he gave himself totally to what God asked of him. By leading an ascetic life in the wilderness he prepared himself for the task in hand. When the time was right he made his way to the river Jordan to preach repentance and baptise the people who were ready to repent.

From his sayings we can see how focused he was on Jesus. Let me quote some of them. “I am not fit to undo His sandal strap.” “He must increase. I must decrease.” “I baptise you in water for repentance but the One who follows me is more powerful than I am.”

He attracted many Jews who came to listen to him and be baptised. Some of them, who were waiting for the Messiah, sensed John was a holy man and was worth following and so they became his disciples. They were men like James and John, Peter and Andrew. When eventually Jesus, the Messiah, appeared on the scene John pointed Him out to his disciples as the Messiah. He now knew his work was nearing completion. When Jesus came to John to be baptised he pointed them in the direction of Jesus, “Look, there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: a man is coming after me who ranks before me because He existed before me.”

As a result some of his disciples left him to follow Jesus. This made John very happy. Now he could retire from the scene but he was still found working for God. Not many months later John was not afraid to reprimand Herod for attempting to marry Herodias, the wife ofhis brother Philip. His condemnation of Herod’s behaviour angered Herodias, and for being outspoken, she was responsible for him being sent to prison.

While in prison some of his disciples visited him and told him about the wonderful things that Jesus was doing. His one desire was that they should leave him and follow Jesus and so he sent them to Him to ask, “Are you the One who is to come or have we got to look for someone else?” By doing this some commentators think that John had doubts whether Jesus was the Messiah. I don’t believe this. I feel sure that John believed Jesus was the Messiah. By telling his disciples to go to Jesus he was certain that their meeting Jesus would convince them that He was the Messiah and so they would follow Him. That is what he ardently hoped. All he wanted was attention to be withdrawn from him and focused on Jesus. When they came back with the news of the wonderful things Jesus was doing, signs foretold by Isaiah the coming Messiah would do, John was hoping that now they would leave him and follow Jesus.

A firm relationship with Jesus is the principle concern of all the saints. We are all sinners but we want to lead holy lives and so a firm relationship with Jesus should also be our chief concern. We see this in holy men like Pope Benedict XVI. He strived to know the Lord Jesus better and to grow daily in His love. When he resigned he sensed that people thought he had forsaken the cross. “Far from it”, he said, “I have not come down from the cross of Christ.” He knew that in his mental and physical state he had done all he could for the Lord and someone younger than he would be better suited to lead God’s people.

Lord Jesus, Christmas is very near and our chief concern, like John, should be our relationship to You. This, too, was all that mattered to Your mother Mary and Joseph. We are busy preparing for Christmas to make our family and friends have a happy and memorable one. I know You would want that of us, but first and foremost You would not want us to lose sight of the fact that we are doing this precisely because You became a man for us. It is because You loved us so much that we love others.

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