John the Baptist is the first Christian witness - the first person to lead others to Jesus, whom he identifies as the Messiah. John’s relationship with Jesus is beautifully put by St Augustine:
I listen: He is the one who speaks
I am enlightened: He is the Light
I am the ear: He is the Word.
Further on in the Gospels, Jesus tells the disciples that when they receive the Spirit of Truth, “you will be My witnesses”. That charge is given to each one of us. Through Baptism, we have received the Spirit; we have been called to witness to Jesus. We are asked to point away from ourselves to Jesus, to show others the way to Him. People may need help to come to Jesus and, indeed, none of us comes to Him alone.
Have we lost the courage to speak to each other about Jesus; about the things that matter most to us? Will anyone care? We must have the courage to speak about Jesus to each other, to share what we believe. We know what we believe because we love - and in the power of that love we chan share our belief with each other.
Last weeks feat and this weeks injunction to be witnesses gives us the courage to be what we are called to be, the courage to strive towards the goal of Heaven despite our weakness, and the faith to believe that "with God on our side who can be against us."
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