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 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 continued to teach 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 in 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.  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!"  In the following chapter, it's clarified that Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples were baptizing (see John 4:1-2).  

 

 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 the Baptist is called the friend (meaning the "best man"), while Christ is the bridegroom.  My study Bible explains that the bride is the Church, the people of God.  Here John is confessing his role in the coming of the Messiah.  He is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and so he rejoices in that celebration.  

 

 "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."  My study Bible comments that John expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers.  His words express that he renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  In allowing Christ to increase in him, John thereby find true glory for himself.  My study Bible also claims that this statement further indicates the end of the old covenant -- for as the law vanishes, the grace of Christ abounds.  John's declaration is found in the liturgical calendar, as his birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25).

 

"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 echoes the teaching of Jesus (see John 3:18).  My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  According to 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.

 

John's statement, "He must increase, but I must decrease" is a model statement for all monastics, and an encouragement to all believing Christians.  St. Paul expressed the same idea when he wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).   St. Paul has also written, "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31).  In "decreasing" so that Christ "increases" within us, we encounter the notion of theosis, or deification.  This is a theological word which describes a human being, through Christian faith, becoming more like God.  This is not to say that we human beings can become like God in nature or substance, but rather that God shares God's grace with us.  In Orthodox theological language, God shares God's energies with us.  In St. John's Gospel, Jesus quotes from the Psalms, asking, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'?" (John 10:34; Psalm 82:6).  My study Bible comments that we are gods in that we bear Christ's image, not His nature.  But through grace (or divine energies), we are to become more like God.  We were made in accordance with human nature, but in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26).  Christ assumed our humanity, and, my study Bible says, even in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, this process of our own healing, of being renewed in God's image and likeness, was begun.  So therefore, those who are joined to Christ, through faith, in Holy Baptism, begin this process of "re-creation."  That is, being renewed in God's image and likeness.  In this sense, St. Peter writes that we become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4).  This is our salvation, this healing in which all things come under the authority of Christ, and we become "children of God" in this sense of image and likeness.  John the Baptist hands off the old to the new covenant, as my study Bible says, and encapsulates this salvation memorably for all when he says, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  Christ is our Bridegroom, and we the Church, the faithful, are His Bride, to be joined to Him.  And therein is John's, and our, joy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 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.  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."  Here John the Baptist is called the friend (or "best man"), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom.  My study Bible tells us that the bride is the Church, the people of God.  Here John confesses is role in the coming of the Messiah.  He's witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, my study Bible says, and so he rejoices in that celebration. 

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  My study Bible comments that John expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers.  He renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  In allowing Christ to increase in him, he finds true glory for himself.  Moreover, my study Bible adds, John's statement indicates the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, it says, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  This declaration is also evident in the liturgical calendar.  John the Baptist's birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while the birth of Christ is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25).

 

"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."  Here John echoes the teaching of Jesus Himself (in John 3:18).   My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  St. John Chrysostom is quoted as saying, "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. 

 

 John the Baptist says of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  As my study Bible indicates, this is also a statement that can apply to the new and old covenants, respectively.  For John the Baptist is a figure of the Old Testament, a prophet in the lineage of the Old Testament prophets.  And he is guiding and "handing off," so to speak, his disciples to Jesus.  We might consider this statement as a type of prophecy in that overarching sense of the story of salvation, and what is happening in Israel and in the world at this time of the early part of Christ's earthly ministry.  But there are also ways in which this statement by John the Baptist applies to all of us.  It also applies to each one of us individually as believers.  St. Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).  In this statement, St. Paul makes it clear that as a person, his old life and identity are "crucified," and Christ lives and grows in him through his faith.  This is most important for each of us to understand, because we are all meant to do the same.  For the Orthodox, this process of Christ growing within us, while our worldly identities decrease in favor of the one we come to know through faith in Christ, is called Theosis.  We each, in this sense, are meant to become divinized; that is, to grow in likeness to Christ, so that we can say together with St. John the Baptist (in this particular sense), "He must increase, but I must decrease."  The only irony in such an application is that we don't decrease at all in this process.  Instead, Christ gives us an identity in Him and through our faith that is much greater than the worldly identity we might know without Him.  Like the Prodigal Son, we "come to ourselves" when we return to Christ, the One who loves us and who died for us, as St. Paul writes.  Additionally, along these same lines, St. Paul also has written, "I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31).  In the context of this letter, St. Paul was defending the imperative of our faith in Christ's Resurrection, and in this sense we can understand how both crucifixion and resurrection play a role in our lives as we participate in the life of Christ through our faith and the sacraments and practices of the Church.  If, as Christ increases in us, we (in our sense of worldly identity) decrease, then what we receive is a resurrection even in this life.  We receive for our faith a sense of ourselves that eclipses who we thought we were, just as Saul who terrified the Church by breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord became St. Paul.   "He must increase, but I must decrease" is also a powerfully iconic statement of humility, and, as such, St. John the Baptist forms the model ideal for monastics.  Sainthood itself is nothing less than this process of growth in holiness, exchanging one identity for another in obedience and humility, and giving up the things that stand in the way of such a process.  St. John, in today's reading, describes just what that process has been for him.  He has found his true identity as the friend of the Bridegroom, and as such, he has come to rejoice:  "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."  So we, like St. John the Baptist and also St. Paul, and countless myriad other saints known and not known to us, may find our joy in the ways we, too, may become friends of the Bridegroom.  For this, too, is part of the reality of everlasting life,  life given to us more abundantly by the Son and through our faith. 

 

 

 

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 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 there was 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 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 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.  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!"  In the following chapter, the Gospel tells us that Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples were doing so (see John 4:2). 

 

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."  Here John the Baptist refers to himself as the friend of the bridegroom (or "best man"), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom.  Christ's bride is the Church, the faithful people of God.  My study Bible remarks that John confesses his role in the coming of the Messiah -- that he is witness to the wedding of Christ and Christ's people, and therefore, as the "friend" he rejoices in that celebration.   His joy is fulfilled because this is his true, authentic role in salvation.  

"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."  Here John the Baptist expresses a humility that is remarkable enough so that it serves as an example for all believers.  John renounces all earthly glory and reputation, my study Bible says, for the sake of Christ.  As John allows Christ to increase in him, the Baptist himself finds true glory.  Additionally, this statement indicates more completely the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, so the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  In the liturgical calendar, this declaration is also revealed, as John's birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25). 

 

"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's word echoes the teaching of Christ (see verse 18, found in yesterday's reading, above).  My study Bible comments that we should notice the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  It quotes a commentary by 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. 

 

 As my study Bible indicates, John the Baptist's statement, "He must increase, but I must decrease" is a type of archetypal statement of humility; so much so, that it has remained a model for monastics and all those who take their faith seriously.  For this statement must also apply to the rest of us, if we take the increase in our faith seriously.  "He must increase, but I must decrease" is, in a sense, a statement of growing faith in Christ.  That is, a growing dependency upon our faith to guide our lives, commensurate with a letting go of the old ways of being and knowing.  Perhaps we, once upon a time, trusted a childhood friend to tell us things we thought might be a good idea.  But as we grow, we "put away childish things," as St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:11 ("When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things").  This is a statement of St. Paul about a growing, maturing faith, a faith that comes to know Christ (and hence, love) more deeply, and so in this sense we also decrease while Christ "increases" in us.  This is the way of faith and of grace, and these are the products or "fruit" of the Spirit.  As Jesus will teach the disciples in John's Gospel, the Spirit "will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13-14).  That is, the Spirit guides us to know Christ more deeply, and this is the truth to which Christ refers.  So, in this sense also, we mature in our faith, we grow in the depth of this spiritual experience, and so in us, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  As we grow in casting off our childish ways, the goal of the Christian life is to grow in the ways that Christ holds for us, mature in the ways that Christ teaches us to be His children by adoption.  So let us take on this remarkable, towering, centuries-long exalted example of John the Baptist.  For he teaches us what holiness is and does, and the essential power of humility in the life of Christian faith.  For without humility, how does Christ increase in us?  How do we "decrease" and leave more room for Him?  When the angel Gabriel presents himself to Mary at the Annunciation, she sings, "My soul magnifies the Lord" (Luke 1:46).  In St. John the Baptist, and Mary the Mother of God we have the two most honored saints in the tradition of the Church.  They both teach us what it is to honor and love the Lord, they both teach us what personal holiness is.  Let us endeavor to be like them, to live our faith like them.  

 

 

 

Therefore 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 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 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His teaching to 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.  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 4:2 explains that Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples.  

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 the Baptist calls himself the friend (or "best man"), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom.  The bride, my study bible explains, is the Church, the people of God.  Here John is confessing that his role in the coming o the Messiah is to be witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, therefore he rejoices in that celebration.  John's joy is fulfilled ("this joy of mine" is specific to him) because his true role and identity are fulfilled.

"He must increase, but I must decrease."   My study bible expresses the view universal to the Church regarding John the Baptist:  John exemplifies a humility that serves as model for all believers.   It says that he renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  As John allows Christ to increase in him, he himself finds his own true glory.  Moreover, this statement also expresses the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, my study bible says, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  John's declaration is revealed in the liturgical calendar of the Church.  His birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24th), while Christ's 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 comments that John echoes the teaching of Christ Himself given earlier in this chapter (see John 3:18 in yesterday's reading above;  also yesterday's reading and commentary).  It also notes the absence of the word "alone" in this 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 also James 2:14-24.

John's humility is a remarkable thing to behold, but it also speaks very loudly to us of our own place in the cosmos, in all of creation, and in relationship to God.  Let us observe that John is in fact acknowledging his true role in the entire picture of salvation, even in creation.  He knows himself to be the friend of the bridegroom.  Therefore his own joy (to reiterate, he says, "this joy of mine") is fulfilled, because he knows who he is and is fulfilling his true role.  This role, the friend of the bridegroom, is what we would call John's "true self."  A world permeated with social media, in which we are used now to presenting ourselves in a certain way for others to see and behold, seems to do anything but give us a sense of humility, in which our true role is hidden behind the desires cultivated by popular pressure.  This is especially true if that role or image is one that seems secondary, or "less than" anything but whatever the top might be.  We are given images to behold every day in which we might measure ourselves by the achievements of others.  Billionaires hold top places in terms not simply of material success, but increasingly as those who are becoming the arbiters of morality and truth, if we but look closely.  As social media titans begin to implement their own forms of censorship, for whatever the motivation, there are yet other great "men of business" (to use an old expression) who offer us solutions for every ailment facing the world:  energy supplies, environmental crises, hunger, health, public policy, and so on.  None of them are experts in ethics or social policies, or medicine, or environmental science, for that matter.  But to have a platform is to proffer the image to the world that we would prefer people to behold about us.  Compare this to the humility of John the Baptist, who earnestly tells us that his true joy is in fulfilling the role that God has prepared for him, whatever that is in service to God's purpose and plans.  We are each encouraged through various types of social pressure to be like the titans, that success and wealth make us "somebody."  It's not good enough if our houses don't compare to what we see or imagine that others with more wealth have.  This has become such a standard yardstick by which to measure ourselves that our various social engineers twist themselves into pretzels to explain why poverty still exists, or any sense of inequality -- be that talent, or skill, or even hard work.  But the truth is simply the way John the Baptist displays it for us.  We were not created to be all the same.  In fact, the truth is far, far away from this vision of sameness.  God has created each one of us as unique persons, and each one of us has a true "joy of mine" to fulfill in the salvation plan of God.  Each one of us has our own way in which we bear our cross, and serve the purposes of salvation in a communion with our Creator.  While what we might see in carefully crafted social profiles might look like there are others with supposedly "perfect lives," or special people who deserve a special sympathy because of a unique tragedy in their lives, the truth is that we all have disappointments, flaws, failures, and places where we are "less than" someone or something else that someone has that we wish we had (whether that is a talent, a personality trait, or a possession of some other kind).   And the deepest truth is that to bear our own crosses, with the humility that asks of us, is the true sense of success as far as the Gospels are concerned.  This is the real strength and the real faith it takes a lifetime to hone, and real courage to face up to.   This is the achievement praised in the gospel message.  For to bear our own cross, and to find our own joy as the person whom God asks us to be, is to truly find ourselves.  It is to find who we really are.  And to rest in and claim that joy as our own takes a kind of courage that can face up to a world that demands the impossible and makes us miserable in the process, leading us off the sane and very real path that Christ asks us to enter as we seek to follow Him.  Because it is Christ who knows our burdens, our strengths, and the things of which we are capable, there is so much more that we serve when we seek to follow Him than the popular flattering images in magazines and television stories.  But it is in the statement of John the Baptist that we really come to full maturity and greatness, as Christ has said:  "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:11-12).  To cultivate this kind of humility is to come to terms with the greatest truth we can face, that it is the place to which God calls us where we find ourselves, and to let go of impressing or following the world's images for us is to become truly free in Christ.   Of course, this is not to say that the place God has in mind for us to serve God won't be as one of those titans of industry or images in magazines of popular stars.  With God, all things are possible, and there is no such thing as a "cookie-cutter" saint.  We're given two great saints of tremendous courage and humility in John's Gospel -- Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea -- who were very socially prominent and wealthy men of their time and place.  But let us seek first the Kingdom, and then God will add to us what God will add.  To be ashamed of humility is to turn our back on the Gospels and Christ's central message.  And, lest we forget, it is to turn our backs on the humble whom Christ loved.  Let us find our true selves, our honest joy, in the place Christ has for us.  John the Baptist was an exceptionally revered figure in his time, and yet he goes one better in greatness through his exemplary humility.   John's disciples echo the voices of the Pharisees to come, who will woefully complain of Jesus' popularity:  "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!" (John 12:19).  But it is John's response that is the proper one, to which we must look ourselves to find our true joy.