John the Baptist: An Ordinary Person with an Unpopular Message

Sometimes we think of a prophet as someone who walks angrily on the streets, with a long hair and a big bell warning people to repent. We also think of prophets as people whose work is limited to foretelling the future. These ideas are not totally wrong, but a prophet does more in different ways.

The role of a prophet is not only in foretelling the future, but also of reminding people of who they are and where they are coming from, as well as one who interprets the signs of the time. In doing so, he enables them to see where they are presently vis-à-vis their final destination.

The Biblical prophets played a vital role in the lives of the people of Israel, and all of them had a special mission at different times, just as John the Baptist played a prophetic role in preparing a way of the Lord.

John the Baptist had the difficult task of calling the people to repent from their sins. Furthermore, he bluntly told Herod the king that he had done wrong for seizing the wife of his brother.

In the modern era, great people such as the Archbishop of El Savador, Oscar Romero, played a prophetic role. He challenged the oppressors in his country and was shot dead while celebrating the Holy Mass for his people.

The persecution of John the Baptist is nothing compared to the suffering of Jesus who was rejected by His own people because He was an ordinary person and the son of a carpenter.

Prophetic words do not only come from preachers of the Word, but also from scholars, the media, etc. For example, economists who have critically analyzed the root of the problem of recession today, attribute it to bad policies by governments, the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the greed of multinational corporations and financial institutions.

The media sometimes plays a prophetic role in our society when they bring wrongs to light; and how certain behaviors are dangerous to societal progress. For example, one Australian newspaper focused on the illegal use and sale of drugs in a series of columns titled “The Drugs Scourge.” They explained how addiction to hard drugs, bottles of spirits and pills are destroying young people around us.[1]

The same media draws our attention to the many problems of Indigenous communities: “poverty, unemployment, isolation violence, domestic violence, sexual abuse…”[2] There is no doubt there are people who are making a lot of selfless sacrifices towards creating a just and happy society, through their active involvement with marginalized people and their fearlessness in speaking truth to power. You can also be a powerful voice in the wilderness whenever you consistently stand up for what is right and true. A voice in the wilderness is not always popular, but is often powerful.

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2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B: Isaiah 40, 1-5.9-11; Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3, 8-14; Mark 1: 1-8.
[1] Rebecca Whittington, “For safety’s sake, learn the language of this toxic trade” (The Drugs Scourge), The Courier-Mail, Friday, July 3, 2009, p. 35. (Several other issues of the Courier-Mail highlight the drug problem.)
[2] Editorial, “Don’t turn a deaf ear to our shame”, The Courier-Mail, Thursday, July 2, 2009, p. 32.

Photo: Peter Lawrence, Unsplash / PD-US

Fr. Gerald Musa

Fr. Gerald Musa

Father Gerald Musa teaches at the Catholic Institute of West Africa, based in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

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2 thoughts on “John the Baptist: An Ordinary Person with an Unpopular Message”

  1. Nice article, but sadly the wording of the title spoils it. St John the Baptist was not just a “person”. He was a MAN. See how “An ordinary man with an unpopular message” sounds so much better, and doesn’t draw attention to your (perhaps unconscious) effort to be politically correct?

  2. Pingback: Before and After: Blessed Sacrament in Lawton, Oklahoma, and More! – christian-99.com

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