Pastor's Page: December 11, 2011
John the Baptist and Neiman Marcus
"Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild
honey." (Mark 1. 6)
A cheating scandal has engulfed Long Island, as 20 young men have been arrested for taking the SAT or
ACT exam illegally. Everyone knows that there is enormous pressure for students to excel in academics and in
standardized testing in order to gain entry into a top‐ranked college. Some students hired more gifted men to
take the exam for them. What does such unethical and immoral activity have to say about our society? Is life
one giant scoreboard? Can our self‐worth and self‐esteem be measured by our SAT scores? We live in a success
oriented world. Suicide among the young, high school‐aged has been very high for decades. How do we
measure success? What does it matter in the long run whether we are educated at Harvard or Suffolk
Community College? Is it not the moral character of a man or woman that matters most? Is it not the life of love
and authenticity that they live, and pass on to future generations?
We are halfway through the Advent season, the new beginning of our church year, and using the B cycle
of Scripture readings. The Sunday Gospel will most often be from Mark. Mark, the shortest of the four Gospels,
has been called a passion narrative with an introduction. By this, Scripture scholars are telling us that the
Marcan Gospel is emphasizing what is most important for our faith, namely the life‐giving death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Mark, there is no infancy narrative, such as appears in Matthew and Luke. Rather Mark begins
immediately with an adult Jesus who is "son of God". The words of the prophet Isaiah, and the fulfillment of the
Isaian prophecies: "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way…." John the
Baptist, an austere reformer of the people of Israel, is on the banks of the Jordan River, calling for repentance
and lifestyle changes, and ritually washing away sin. The crowds are wondering whether this could be the
Messiah or perhaps even Elijah come back to life.
John is a man of courage and conviction, disturbing the status quo, acting out of love for God's people
and involved in what will be interpreted by King Herod as a subversive activity. Like the great prophets before
him, John is listening attentively to the voice of God in the depths of his heart, and preparing the way of the
Lord. Eventually he will be imprisoned and beheaded for his proclamation of preparedness; readiness for the
Savior of the world.
John knows who he is. He is not the Messiah; but simply a voice in the wilderness, pointing to someone
else "one mightier than I am, one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to unfasten." John has no grandiose delusions; no struggle for one upmanship or status.
John is not interested in success. He knows that he must simply proclaim God's message and then face
the consequences. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, now declared Blessed by the church, once told an interviewer
when she was questioned about the success of her apostolic efforts: "I am not here to be successful. I am here
to be faithful."
The quality of your life and mine will be determined by how well we have listened to the voice of God in
the depths of our beings. And we will be judged by how well we have responded to the inner call to love God
heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the end St. Paul tells us, "There are in the end,
three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love."
Peace and love,
Father Bruce
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