This joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.

Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

- John 3:22-36

In yesterday's reading, we were told about a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.   Here we're told that both John the Baptist and Jesus' ministries continue side-by-side.  In John 4:2 we're told that it is not Jesus Himself who baptizes, but His disciples do.  The Baptist continues to be an important figure both the Gospel and to the ministry of Jesus.

Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."   John explains his role in salvation history.  He calls himself the friend (or "best man") of the bridegroom (who is Christ).  The bride is the Church, or the people of God.  Once again, as we noted in an earlier reading, John's identity is given in relationship to Jesus, to the Bridegroom.  This is the Baptist's role in the coming of the Messiah, and all things are in relationship to Christ, the Anointed One, from whom we take our most profound and true identity.  John the Baptist is witness, herald, and friend to the wedding of Christ and His people, and thus his joy . . . is fulfilled.

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  John's humility is perhaps his most distinguishing personal characteristic, and one that serves true identity in Christ and in the salvation plan for the world.  He serves the purposes of God.  All earthly glory and reputation is given for the sake of Christ.  John finds true glory by serving the truth of Christ.  It is also a statement of the old covenant, personified in the Baptist.  My study bible says, "As the law vanishes, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds."   Traditionally, John the Baptist's birth is celebrated in the Church on June 24th, at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky, while Jesus' birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase.

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."   Here John the Baptist echoes the teachings of Christ Himself, as given in yesterday's reading to Nicodemus.  We note again the witness of John the Baptist to the fullness of the Spirit that rests upon Christ (see also John 1:33).  And again, the rejection of Christ is a turning away of all that is offered.  My study bible points out the absence of the word "alone" in the statement of faith.  St. John Chrysostom writes, "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See James 2:14-24.

Identity comes to fullness in Christ.  Such is the state of faith that it conveys the depths of who we are, and in this understanding do faith and works go hand in hand.  How can we separate what we do from who we are?  John states that Christ "must increase, but I must decrease."  This is what faith must work in each of us as we continue along the journey of faith in Christ.  John is friend and "best man" to the Bridegroom Christ, but later in the Gospel, Jesus will call His disciples friends (see John 15:15-17).  By extension, that includes all who learn from Him, who bear the fruit of faith, who love one another as He loved us.  In this identity is John's joy full, just as Jesus shares of the fullness of His joy in His command to love as he loved (see John 15:9-12).  One cannot separate true joy from purpose and identity, and the fullness of finding the place where love brings faith and works together.  Christ does not separate any of these things.  In effect, the fullness of His joy that remains in us is the fullness of true selfhood; there can be no greater gift offered to human beings and to the world than this.  And of this profundity we can never exhaust the gift.  We go forward in faith to find an increasing abundance, that joy of which both John and Jesus speak.  In this sense, it is life itself on offer, and life in abundance.   That is truly grace for grace.