Prophetic voices
Gospel: Mt 11:11-15
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121423.cfm
Jesus admired John the Baptist. When Jesus was growing up, I imagine that Mary told Jesus about the visitation and how John moved in Elizabeth’s womb. Jesus and John were connected before they were born. They were close in age with John being slightly older. Since Elizabeth and Mary were cousins, John and Jesus may have spent some of their childhood together. When Jesus started his ministry, John was already well-established.
This passage goes beyond expressing Jesus’s admiration for John and shows the struggle of prophets. John was a prophet which means he was preparing a way for Jesus and a way for the Kingdom. He was driving change from the now to the not-yet. He was challenging the norms of his day and the way people saw and lived their faith. He showed that:
What was found in the temple could be found in the wilderness
What was only available to the most devout was now available to all
There have been prophets throughout scripture that pushed society to change. Those who push these changes, often experience violence. John and Jesus with the messages they were sharing would eventually become part of that tradition and experience violence as well. Those in society who weren’t prepared for this change or had much to lose by the change took extreme action to stop it.
People like Jesus and John bring forth the Kingdom. The full realization of the Kingdom has not been fully realized in human history (thus, those in the Kingdom are greater than John). Until all are in the Kingdom, those who help bring the Kingdom will have the possibility of experiencing violence against them. In living for that Kingdom, though, death has no power over you. The true tragedy is in those who resort to such violence, and we all have the possibility of falling into it with whom we exclude. How can we help ourselves and the world to embrace and not fight such a message of love?
