Dear Brother Knights:

I would like to invite you to come with me to the Jordan (I will pay for it!). Jesus has just arrived and asked John to baptize him. John is a little bit flabbergasted and says to the Lord, “you should baptize me and not I baptize you”. Jesus is very kind and friendly and convinces John to go ahead with it. When he does the Holy Spirit appears in a form of a dove and a voice is heard, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” It is not only that John gets informed who Jesus really is but he knows also that his mission has ended.

We do not know how long John was witnessing for the coming Messiah and how much he got used to his job, we can only guess, that the change came suddenly. But John as always, when we hear of him and his actions, is greater than life. He has no squabbles to give the torch over to Jesus. Selflessly he witnesses to his own disciples “he must grow, and I have to diminish.” Be honest to yourself when you meditate on this sentence of John. Would you have done the same, while you had a good thing going? John is the epitome of humility. We all can learn from him, if one has the courage to try it.

Fr. Frank Feldmann, S.A.C.
Chaplain