Even though many people turned to John the Baptist for leadership and inspiration, he made it his business constantly to point the way forward for others, but not in a way that made them dependent on him or that cast him in a particularly favorable light. He was like a good teacher who opens up new areas of growth for us and brings our talents to their very highest level.
Although he prepared the way for Jesus, John acknowledges that he did not know who to expect. As I do my best, in my way, to prepare the way for Jesus, I cannot always know just what to be ready for
John remained active and vigilant. I pray that I may find the balance between keeping occupied in God’s service without letting my occupations overwhelm me.
"Lamb of God" stirs biblical overtones: of the Passover lamb, and of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah, led like a lamb to the slaughter, bearing our sins.
Lord, whenever I hear of some atrocious barbarisms by one of our race, and of the injustice and pain which people suffer through others' wickedness, I remember that this is the world you entered, the burden you took on yourself. You had a strong back to carry the evil that is in the world.
John wanted to reveal Christ to people, to make him known. This is a knowledge based on love. We can have head-knowledge, knowing all about a person but not really knowing the person. We can list dates of birth, marriage and death, height and weight, nationality and religion. There is another knowledge - heart-knowledge when we know how others feel about what's important in life, how they relate to people and we know them from the inside. That's what revelation can mean, and what John wanted to do for Jesus. We can make a prayer that we can know Jesus from the inside and reveal a God of love and life to others.
From: sacredspace.com
