The Humble Voice

By Fr. Paul Scalia
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 12/12/02)

St. John the Baptist would have felt more than a little out of place in the modern world. He spent his entire life humbling himself, stepping out of the way, and directing the crowds to someone else, so that another man could receive glory. His public life culminated with the sending of his own disciples to follow Christ. He pointed to our Lord and proclaimed, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn 3:30).

Our culture, however, teaches us to exalt ourselves, to seek our own glory. Original sin’s lingering effects incline men of every time and places to self-aggrandizement. But today’s society, from sports and entertainment to politics and advertising, rests on self-indulgence and self-promotion. Our culture, which crowds out the Lord with its own self-importance, reverses the Baptist’s words: "I must increase, but He must decrease."

Perhaps because we live in the midst of such selfishness, or perhaps because it masquerades as "self-esteem" and "self-expression," we forget how absolutely contrary it is to the Gospel. "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Mt 23:12). During Advent, therefore, as we prepare room for the Lord, the Church places before us the example of John the Baptist. By his humility, the forerunner of Christ displays what it means to be His follower.

The Baptist’s humility teaches first that the disciple of Christ does not promote himself. He must be Christ-assertive and therefore less self-assertive. For that reason John the Baptist deflects questions about himself. When the priests and Levites come to investigate, he proclaims not who he is, but who he is not: "I am not the Christ" (Jn 1:20). Neither is he Elijah or the Prophet. But he gives no explanation of who he is.

In what must have been an exhausted tone, the investigators finally ask, "What do you have to say for yourself?" (Jn 1:22) Many of us would leap at the chance to talk about ourselves. In fact, many in the culture do so constantly, and in great depth. But John gives another elusive answer: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert" (Jn 1:23). He is merely the voice. As St. Augustine observes, a voice only serves the purpose of communicating the word, and disappears once the word has been received. So also John disappears at the coming of Christ, the Eternal Word.

The confusion over John’s identity reveals another, perhaps less obvious, aspect of humility: it enables us to become like Christ. Indeed, humility is the necessary foundation for our transformation in Christ. When we are full of ourselves, there is no room for Christ within us. But when we humbly empty ourselves, He fills our souls with His life: "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Mt 16:25). Putting aside all claims to individualism, self-expression and the modern "I gotta be me!" attitude, Christ’s disciples take on His mind, His will, His desires, and His life. They say with St. Paul, "I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20).

It was precisely that point that John reached by the sure road of humility. He emptied himself completely and was in turn so filled with Christ’s life that people confused him for the Messiah. "I am not the Christ," he had to clarify. Humility should enable the same growth of Christ in the soul of every Catholic, so that the prayer of Cardinal Newman will be fulfilled in each of us: "May they look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus."

Fr. Scalia is parochial vicar of St. Patrick Parish in Chancellorsville.

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