Called to Point the Way to Jesus

Except for Jesus and Mary, Saint John the Baptist is the only saint for whom the Church celebrates both the anniversary of his birth and death. St. John the Baptist is, in the words of Jesus, the “greatest of all prophets born of woman.” Thus, he is presented to us as a model and guide in our own lives as disciples in the world.

We are told of the death of John the Baptist in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist because he dared to speak the truth. The placement of the narrative in the gospel, however, tells us how we are to understand his death.  Both Mark and Matthew place the death of the Baptist in the midst of the sending of the Twelve into the world, their return, and the feeding of the multitude with loaves and fish.

Matthew tells us that Jesus, upon hearing of the death of John, wanted to be left alone in his grief. However, the crowds found him, and Jesus was moved with pity because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Whatever he might have wanted to do after John’s murder, the sight of the distressed people called him beyond his own need. Whatever his questions about his own ministry, the people gave him all the clarification he needed. Jesus spent the whole day ministering to the people, and when evening came and the disciples saw only the darkness and the hunger of the people, Jesus invited them to “feed them, yourselves” (Mt. 14:16).

Related: A Light to the Nations – Reflection on the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist