The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Raymun Festin SVD – Angola
Saturday After Epiphany
In Shakespeare’s famous play Othello, the entire plot revolves around a set of colorful characters, one of whom is the malevolent and calculating figure of Iago. The villain Iago was bitterly disappointed when he was not promoted to the rank of Othello’s lieutenant. The job went instead to Cassio whom Lago thought was a man of inferior stuff.
Lago was so consumed by envy that he spun an elaborate web of deception and intrigue to accomplish his destructive designs. The whole being of Lago was being eaten by what Socrates called the ulcer of the soul — envy.
John the Baptist is the exact opposite of Lago. In the Gospel, he modestly compares himself to a best man at the wedding “who stands and listens for the bridegroom, and rejoices greatly at his voice.”
The greatness of John lies in playing second fiddle to Jesus Christ, his cousin. In his relation with Jesus, John never showed any sign of envy in his heart because he was possessed of a pure and humble heart. That is why he clearly recognized who Jesus was—the Messiah, the Son of God.
John exhibited his incorruptible character when he put Jesus at the center and placed his person at the background, insisting that he was not even worthy to tie Jesus’s sandals.
He served Jesus well and found his deepest joy in his role as a servant. In this respect, John should be our model. Just as he decreased himself so that Jesus would increase, we too must think more of Jesus and think less of ourselves. Just as John rejoiced like a best man at the wedding, we too must be happy like a butler who finds his greatest delight in serving his master well.
John the Baptist should also be the model in our relationship with one another. We must rejoice when our neighbor, an officemate, or colleague or classmate succeeds. We must sincerely praise the other when he/she does well. We should not think ill of our neighbor; rather, we should always wish him/her well. We must be quick in seeing the good things in others and slow in pointing at their faults.
St. Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds each one of us “not to think of himself/herself more highly than one ought to think, but to think; soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned”(Rom 12, 3).
