John is the voice, and Christ is the Word
John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning Christ is the Word who lives for ever.
Take away the word, the meaning, and what is the voice? Where there is no understanding, there is only a meaningless sound. The voice without the word strikes the ear but does not build up the heart.
However, let us observe what happens when we first seek to build up our hearts. When I think about what I am going to say, the word or message is already in my heart. When I want to speak to you, I look for a way to share with your heart what is already in mine.
In my search for a way to let this message reach you, so that the word already in my heart may find place also in yours, I use my voice to speak to you. The sound of my voice brings the meaning of the word to you and then passes away. The word which the sound has brought to you is now in your heart, and yet it is still also in mine.
When the word has been conveyed to you, does not the sound seem to say: The word ought to grow, and I should diminish? The sound of the voice has made itself heard in the service of the word, and has gone away, as though it were saying: My joy is complete. Let us hold on to the word; we must not lose the word conceived inwardly in our hearts.
Do you need proof that the voice passes away but the divine Word remains? Where is John’s baptism today? It served its purpose, and it went away. Now it is Christ’s baptism that we celebrate. It is in Christ that we all believe; we hope for salvation in him. This is the message the voice cried out.
Because it is hard to distinguish word from voice, even John himself was thought to be the Christ. The voice was thought to be the word. But the voice acknowledged what it was, anxious not to give offence to the word. I am not the Christ, he said, nor Elijah, nor the prophet. And the question came: Who are you, then? He replied: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord. The voice of one crying in the wilderness is the voice of one breaking the silence. Prepare the way for the Lord, he says, as though he were saying: “I speak out in order to lead him into your hearts, but he does not choose to come where I lead him unless you prepare the way for him.”
What does prepare the way mean, if not “pray well”? What does prepare the way mean, if not “be humble in your thoughts”? We should take our lesson from John the Baptist. He is thought to be the Christ; he declares he is not what they think. He does not take advantage of their mistake to further his own glory.
If he had said, “I am the Christ,” you can imagine how readily he would have been believed, since they believed he was the Christ even before he spoke. But he did not say it; he acknowledged what he was. He pointed out clearly who he was; he humbled himself.
He saw where his salvation lay. He understood that he was a lamp, and his fear was that it might be blown out by the wind of pride.
From a sermon of St Augustine
2nd Reading for the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings, 3rd Sunday of Advent
(Source: www.universalis.com)
Would you say that the beginnings of our missions were human? God blessed it so greatly that all the inhabitants of the place made their general confession, and in such crowds, that I had to get two Jesuit fathers to come and help me hear confessions, preach and instruct. (…) All three of us went about preaching and giving missions from village to village … That was what we were doing, we three, and yet God was doing what he had foreseen from all eternity. [p. 19]
(St Vincent de Paul. From Jacques Delarue, The Holiness of Vincent de Paul, Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London 1960, 132 pp)
(One of the letters of Archbishop Périer, SJ, to Mother Teresa)
...Take a little time. If Our Lord wishes to work miracles in this case certainly He can do it, but we have no right to expect them and He does not work miracles without a very good reason. Be patient. By writing yourself now to Rome you might spoil the whole outcome of your petition. Perhaps the Very Reverend Mother general has written herself already. Just wait for a reply. Do not rush things, and do not expect others to rush them either. ... In due time the reply will come, remain quiet. Pray much and live intimately with Our Lord Jesus Christ asking for light, strength, decision; but do not anticipate HIS WORK. Try not to put anything of your own in all this. You are His instrument, nothing more. ... If Our Lord wants it to be done quickly He can arrange that; in the meantime being human creatures we must act according to our means.
(Blessed Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light, p 112)