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

St. John the Baptist (with scenes from his life).  17th century, Crete

 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 is earthly and 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

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught Nicodemus:  "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.  My study bible points here that it is not Jesus Himself who baptized, but rather His disciples.  (See 4:2.)

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."  Again, we note that it is not Jesus who is baptizing (per 4:2), but rather His disciples.  My study bible tells us that John the Baptist is called the friend (or "best man"), while Christ Himself is the true bridegroom.   The bride is the Church, or the people of God (therefore we can see the connection to Baptism, "birth again" from above).  John confesses his role here in the coming of the Messiah -- that he is witnessing the wedding of Christ and His people, and therefore rejoices in that celebration.  "He must increase, but I must decrease" is a statement of humility that remains a model for all believers, and is especially held in great significance by monastics.  My study bible says that he renounces an earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  As he allows Christ to increase in him, John himself finds true glory.  Moreover, my study bible says, this statement by John indicates the end of the old covenant, and is therefore highly significant.  As the law vanishes, it is the grace of Christ that abounds.  In the liturgical calendar, the Church recognizes and marks these significant events, as John's birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky, and Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase.

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and 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."  My study bible says here that John echoes the teaching of Christ Himself (see verse 18).  My study bible also points out the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  It quotes St. John Chrysostom:  "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 also James 2:14-24.

What does it means to point out that the word "alone" is not present in John the Baptist's statement of faith?  This is not a contradiction of the essence and importance of faith, but neither is it to say that our faith merely consists of good deeds and actions.  Rather it is pointing to a holistic quality to faith and the state of our being.  Being and doing are essentially inseparable from one another.  We are to live our faith.  Faith is not a merely intellectual problem, in which we decide something, or that we are going to ascribe to a particular belief system.  Rather, as the whole of the Gospels suggest, and particularly as this passage with its emphasis both on baptism and including John's statement, "He must increase, but I must decrease" tells us, to be "born again from above" is not a matter merely of learning new things or holding a particular idea as true.  Rather, it is a question also of the work of the Spirit, the soul's adoption of qualities and patterns which change who we are, how we look at things, and how we walk and move and have our being in the world.  Identity and faith are inseparable from choices and meaning in all aspects of our lives.  Baptism is a way to understand death and rebirth, but of a spiritual nature which in turn works throughout the whole of who we are.  Even continuing into very late in life, we may find the baptism we receive in childhood illuminating meanings and choices that change who we are, and continue to reveal new paths we need to travel, and choices we must make.  Our faith is something that doesn't just exist in one dimension of the self, but rather permeates the whole (like the leaven that changes the substance of the whole of the dough in Matthew 13:33).  John the Baptist's statement, "He must increase, but I must decrease" is akin to St. Paul's statement, "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31).  The mystical impact of baptism is to effectively create adoption through the work of the Spirit in us, so that we come closer to our true identity, found in communion with Christ, with Creator.  And this, in fact, as St. Paul expresses, is the true nature of salvation.  It is an ongoing process, in which we accept this work of God within us, in our lives, and workings its way through "the whole lump" of ourselves.  It is one we bear with patience, humility, courage, and all the gifts that the Spirit can bestow -- even surprisingly to ourselves -- in our souls and character, bearing out in our choices.  Let us consider that we are on a road, Christ's "way."  The road awaits, teaches us patience, and calls us ahead.  John the Baptist surrenders completely to this work of God, completes his role, and enters into salvation history as the bridge between the old and the new.  John knows who he himself is, and he also knows who Christ is.  Let us endeavor to be like him, and to find the joy that he expresses here.  The icon above gives us a word-picture, the person of St. John the Baptist.  On the sides of the icon are scenes from his life.  His head on a platter, the story of his martyrdom, is in the lower left corner.  He wears wings, to denote that his identity as messenger for the Greek word for angel simply means "messenger."   He bears a scroll with his words, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2) -- which Christ Himself would repeat.  His right hand gestures in blessing.  He is called the Forerunner, the one who proclaimed the coming of the Lord to the world, and even to those in hades, as all await the Bridegroom.