He Must Increase; I Must Decrease

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said,

‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” ,
as the prophet Isaiah said.

 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘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.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’  (John 1: 19-39)
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After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized— John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.

 Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. They came to John and said 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.’ John 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. 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.’(John 3:22-30)

John the Baptist was about thirty years old when he began his mission, and his mission ended between six months and a year later. John’s entire thirty years of preparation were for a mission that lasted six to twelve months. Most of John’s life was spent in prayer and penance, and yet his very short ministry rocked the world. His ministry was to introduce Christ the Lord and then to step aside. And this is exactly what he did.

John calls himself a friend of the bridegroom. The bridegroom is the one who is marrying the bride, the Church. The bridegroom’s friend rejoices at the good fortune of the bridegroom, but he is not the groom. John the Baptist is an incredible example of prayer, penance, and humility. He knows who he is before the Lord. He steps aside when the Lord comes because he knows that the ministry is not about himself. The ministry was about opening the hearts of others to receive Christ when He came.

Before Jesus came to be baptized, when John was baptizing, the Pharisees asked him who he was, and John said, “I am not the Christ. Nor am I Elijah or one of the prophets. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness to make known the way of the Lord.” John was comfortable with the fact that he was not the Messiah. He knew that he was not going to fix everything. He told the Pharisees, “I am not even worthy to untie the sandals of the Messiah. My ministry is not about me. I am only doing what a slave does. I am just a voice. I have nothing without the grace of God. The one who comes after me existed before me.”

When Jesus comes to John, John says that Jesus ought to be baptizing him and not the other way around. After Jesus was baptized, God said from a cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” God did not say, “And this is my good servant John who has prepared the way for my Son.” God did not say anything about John, but John did not care that he was not acknowledged and he did not get jealous. John tells his disciples to follow Jesus now. Go after Him.

John is free about holding on to his disciples, and, when he hears that Jesus is baptizing, he is excited about that. He says, “My joy is complete.” He is not worried that Jesus is stealing his congregation or that everyone might go to Jesus instead of to John. No. He tells his disciples that this is good. Jesus is baptizing. Go to Christ. It is not about me, John. It’s about Him. “I am preparing you,” said John, “for the real new thing. Go to Him. He must increase, and I must decrease.”

John is free to decrease. He is free to be nothing, and he is joyful about it. “Jesus is the groom. He is the one you must belong to. He’s the one you must become one with. I am just a voice,” said John. “He is the Word.” Let his word penetrate every fiber of your being.

At the age of thirty or thirty-one, John will go to a premature death, and he’s okay with that, too. He had looked into the eyes of God, his own cousin, and he had heard the Word. He is more than happy to give his life to the One whom he met and loved and pointed out. May we receive the grace to complete our mission while realizing that it is not about us; it is about the Lord. We are the best man, but Jesus is the groom. It all belongs to Him.

Transcribed from a homily by Father David Engo, FFM