Selfishness is a barrier to walk with Jesus.

Good morning, happy Thursday, and blessings.

The disciples of John the Baptist came to him and reported that (John 3:26) "all are coming to Him [Jesus]." The comments by the disciples imply that they were unhappy with this. John the Baptist used the occasion to exalt Christ and to once again clarify that he was not the Christ. The Baptist declared (John 2:30), "He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease." This event gave rise to the words of our text.

In our gospel for today (John 3:31-36) John contrasts Jesus with John the Baptist, “who is of the earth, is from the earth and speaks of the earth.” He is not nullifying the testimony of John, but rather pointing out its limitations by contrasting it with the superior testimony of Jesus. While John the Baptist was a faithful witness of all that God entrusted to him, he was nonetheless human. He only had a limited understanding of the things of God, as all humans do to one extent or another. But Jesus dwelt eternally with the Father (17:5). Because Jesus came to earth from heaven and is now back in heaven, exalted above all others, we must believe everything that He has told us about God and heavenly things. In other words, this is all like an invitation for us to learn to put Jesus first in our lives.

When Christ is above us there are a series of radical changes that I have to make in my life to be classified as a disciple. For otherwise this means that we need to have more of Jesus in our lives. How is this accomplished?

Following the gospel for today (John 3:31-36) we need to lose our ego. We have studied about John the Baptist in this series already. John the Baptist had explained that he wasn’t fit to tie Jesus’ shoes. He explained that his baptism was different than the baptism of Jesus. So, what did John the Baptist’s followers do? First, they argued with some religious leader; and then they complained that Jesus had more people following Him than John the Baptist did. John the Baptist knew that it wasn’t about himself, but about Jesus. If you want Jesus to take over your life; and really lead you in all that you do, it is time to get over yourself.

To have more of Jesus, accept who you are. The people in this nation have a serious problem with understanding that God made us in His and Her image. God created male and female, (there is more); black, white, brown (there is more); straight, gay, lesbian, trans (there is more); and we can continue to identify the diversities of God's creation. There are some people who think much less of themselves and God’s call on your life; than God does. You focus on how worthless you are and forget as a Christian, you have the power of God living in you. On your own, you are nothing; but through Jesus Christ, you can do all things that are a part of God’s plan for you.

For John’s Gospel, to believe is too obey. So, for us, there’s really no such thing as passive faith. Our belief that Jesus is God makes Christianity something we do. We proclaim our belief in Christ whenever we live in obedience to the lessons he enacted before us.

Allow me to conclude with this; When you are obedient, you’re choosing God’s best. And we you choose God’s best; you are walking with God.

Blessings

Fr. Luis+