The key message in today’s Gospel is that John the Baptist knew who he was and who he was not. “One mightier than I is coming after me….” He was not the Messiah but rather the disciple, and his role was to “make straight the path for the Lord” and to live out his vocation so that others would see the power of Christ to baptize with the Holy Spirit rather than with water like John: water cleanses, the Holy Spirit purifies.

As we attempt to follow in John’s footsteps as Disciples of Christ in our own world, we are called to promote the Good News of the Gospel message: salvation comes from God and God alone—not from a rock star or a politician or actress or athlete but from the Creator of all things. Where do we place our worship and how is our enthusiasm applied to right relationships? Do we know who we are?

The modern world attempts to focus our enthusiasm on “movers and shakers” of sports, politics and entertainment—and on ourselves. This world enables us to lose sight of just who is God. So much emphasis is placed on the “created” in this world—the joy of our entertainment, the hope of a sports team, the
excitement and glamour of the royals, and even the love of self (or children). Now you may say this is going too far—that these are simply past times of humanity, nothing to worry about. But I think where we place importance—the things and ideas—where we spend all of our energy and place our hope says a great deal about what I really believe.

FACT: Jesus Christ is the reason for the season.
FACT: All that we are and all that we have comes from God.
FACT: The only one to whom we owe our worship is God, not some athlete or rock star or actress or royal or politician—and certainly not ourselves.

Let us make the center of this Christmas celebration our Lord and Savior. Without fear of offending those who do not believe, without fear of seeming old fashion, let us think, pray and say—Merry Christmas—and count among our blessings
that the greatest gift of all comes not from the Mall or the checkbook, but rather from God Himself—and it is the gift of Salvation. We can begin this process by a simple act—taking a look at our Christmas cards and asking ourselves, what are we celebrating?