Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

“What, then, will this child be?” It is an interesting question that the Gospel leaves us with. And the final line of today’s Gospel, “For surely the hand of the Lord was with him,” lets us know that we should expect great things.

The child in question is John the Baptist. Lots of ideas revolve around John the Baptist — he was a wild man, he was a recluse, at the same time he is followed by many. His whole life is about spreading the Gospel, beginning in the womb jumping as Jesus is near.

We might think that John the Baptist had it easy, he could literally point others to Jesus. And it can be argued that John the Baptist wasn’t trying to get other people to evangelize, but trying to get others to go to Jesus themselves, to follow Jesus.

Now, just a few days before Christmas, for just a moment, don’t worry about pointing others to Jesus. Instead, point yourself to Jesus, look at him, encounter him, pray to him. You need him too.