20250624 PLAYING SECOND FIDDLE
24 June 2025, Tuesday, The Nativity of St John the Baptist
First reading | Isaiah 49:1-6 |
I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth
Islands, listen to me,
pay attention, remotest peoples.
The Lord called me before I was born,
from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.
He made my mouth a sharp sword,
and hid me in the shadow of his hand.
He made me into a sharpened arrow,
and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, ‘You are my servant (Israel)
in whom I shall be glorified’;
while I was thinking, ‘I have toiled in vain,
I have exhausted myself for nothing’;
and all the while my cause was with the Lord,
my reward with my God.
I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord,
my God was my strength.
And now the Lord has spoken,
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
to gather Israel to him:
‘It is not enough for you to be my servant,
to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;
I will make you the light of the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 138(139):1-3,13-15 |
I thank you for the wonder of my being.
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
I thank you for the wonder of my being.
For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
I thank you for the wonder of my being.
Already you knew my soul,
my body held no secret from you
when I was being fashioned in secret
and moulded in the depths of the earth.
I thank you for the wonder of my being.
Second reading | Acts 13:22-26 |
Jesus, whose coming was heralded by John
Paul said: ‘God deposed Saul and made David their king, of whom he approved in these words, “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.”
‘My brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and all you who fear God, this message of salvation is meant for you.’
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk1:76 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
As for you, little child, you shall be called
a prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his ways before him.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:57-66,80 |
'His name is John'
The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.
Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
Meanwhile the child grew up and his spirit matured. And he lived out in the wilderness until the day he appeared openly to Israel.
PLAYING SECOND FIDDLE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Is 49:1-6; Ps 139:1-3, 13-15; Acts 13:22-26; Lk 1:57-66,80]
Today, we celebrate the birthday of John the Baptist. At the birth of every child, the question “What will this child turn out to be?” naturally comes to mind, just as it did to the townspeople when John the Baptist was born. Indeed, all of us desire the best in life for our children. We hope they will be successful — rich, famous, and perhaps great leaders in the world. The greatest joy and fulfilment for parents is to see their children succeed.
But does success mean that always be at the top, above everyone else? How do we measure success? True success is when our children discover and fulfil their vocation in life. It cannot be defined by worldly standards, which often promote individualism, selfishness and ambition. Such standards drive our children to serve themselves — striving to be rich, famous and powerful — rather than serving humanity or God. This also explains why some of us cannot accept our place in life. We envy those who are better, or hold a position higher than us.
In the case of John the Baptist and his mother, Elizabeth, they were gracious in accepting the role of second fiddle. John the Baptist was chosen to be only a precursor to the Messiah — he was not the Messiah. When Mary visited Elizabeth in her pregnancy, John the Baptist “leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.'” (Lk 1:41f)
Elizabeth was not envious that Mary was chosen to be the mother of the Saviour. In fact, she rejoiced with her. So, too, John the Baptist followed in his mother’s footsteps. He was happy and content to be the herald of the Messiah. He did not seek to usurp Jesus’ place. In fact, he could have, as people thought that he was the Messiah, or Elijah or the prophet. But he declared, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.'” (Jn 1:23)
John the Baptist was humble and knew his place in God’s plan. Paul said, “Before John ended his career he said, ‘I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.'” (cf Jn 1:26f) John did not pretend to be what he was not. He was no pretender, or fake. He did exactly what God called him to do. He accepted the Lord’s choice with joy. Indeed, he never doubted God’s plan. We can be sure that the prayer of the psalmist was his as well when he said, “O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising, you discern my purpose from afar. You mark when I walk or lie down, all my ways lie open to you. For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank you for the wonder of my being, for the wonders of all your creation. Already you knew my soul, my body held no secret from you when I was being fashioned in secret and moulded in the depths of the earth.”
If only we knew God’s will and plan for us, and were able to accept His choice for us, we will always be happy and contented in life. The reason some people are never happy wherever they are is because they are never happy with themselves. They live in deep insecurity, constantly trying to prove they are the best. They spend all their energy fighting with their competitors, plotting and conniving how to destroy them instead of realizing their potentials by doing what they are gifted and called to do. Indeed, if there is clarity in our calling in life, regardless of our position or work, we will be fulfilled.
John the Baptist was clear that he was called to be the precursor of our Lord. He had no desire to be more than what the Lord chose him to be. The words of Isaiah apply to him. “The Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name. He made my mouth a sharp sword, and hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow, and concealed me in his quiver.” John the Baptist was given the gift of preaching and he realized his vocation by calling the people to repentance through the forgiveness of their sins. He wanted the people to be prepared to receive the Messiah when He came. Indeed, “the Lord has spoken, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to him.” But he stopped there because he knew that the Messiah’s role was not just “to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel”, but He would be “the light of the nations so that (God’s) salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Hence, John the Baptist was very happy to give way to Jesus when the time came. We read in John’s gospel that when he saw Jesus, he pointed out to his disciples, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” (Jn 1:29-31) Again when he was told that Jesus was baptizing others, he was unperturbed. They tried to stir up his jealousy by saying to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” (Jn 3:26) But the reply of John was truly one of great humility and full awareness of his identity. He answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” (Jn 3:26-29)
Truly, John was happy because he fulfilled his vocation in life. It was not about status or achievement, but about completing the task God gave him. His conscience was clear and his joy complete. His mission was to lead others to the Messiah. So why should he be jealous, now that others, including his disciples, were moving to Jesus. He said, “The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason, my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:29f) This is true for us as well.
Happiness in life is not about being first or second, but about whether we have fulfilled our role in God’s plan of salvation. In other words, have we brought people to Jesus, or only to ourselves? If we are only interested in drawing others to us, we will always be insecure because there will always be competition for the top position. That is self-centredness and ego. But if we are focused on the Lord, then it does not matter who brings whom to Jesus, so long as they are brought to Jesus. Once someone comes to the Lord, then our task is done. We can retreat and allow the Lord to complete them. The truth is that none of us can complete each other. Only the Lord can fulfil our heart’s desires. That is why the greatest gift we can give to another is Jesus, just as John the Baptist did. This was what God said, “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep His promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour.”
Indeed, the name of John means “God has been gracious.” God has been gracious to Zechariah and Elizabeth in blessing them with a child in their old age. They in turn were gracious in bringing up their child in accordance with the plan of God. And John the Baptist was truly gracious in using his life to announce the coming of the Messiah. “The hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew up and his spirit matured. And he lived out in the wilderness until the day he appeared openly to Israel.” He was gracious to lead us to Jesus and not to himself. What about us? Are we gracious in leading others to Him?
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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