John the Baptist
is not like the puff adder, the snake who inflates himself to look bigger than he actually is. John gets smaller.
John was a baptizer—that’s how he got his name, after all. And at the start he was quite popular. Baptism business was brisk. Until Jesus and his disciples began baptizing, and people started flocking to the Galilean rabbi. To John’s disciples, it looks like they’re losing their exclusive franchise. “They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.’” They expect him to do something about this, chase the interlopers off their territory.
But John sees a climactic moment of joy. He was only ever the forerunner, preparing the way for Christ. And when he looks across the Jordan and sees Jesus’ growing power, and the coming of the Kingdom—his joy is complete. “He must increase,” John says, “but I must decrease” (John 3: 22-30).
All of us living in puff adder land find it hard to understand how John can feel climactic joy by getting smaller. We only know how to get bigger, or at least look bigger. John understood that the human heart is only so big, and every incursion of our own ego takes up more and more space until we are, quite literally, full of ourselves. No room for a greater presence and love, no room for joy, for true pleasure, for all the relationships that crown our lives. And the miraculous thing is, John discovered, every inch we withdraw from our own hearts, God flows in. Love flows in. Joy flows in. Just like that.
COMPANIONS ON THE WAY
Introduction
Stories of Turning
Week One
Stories of Wild Places
Week Two
Stories of Dogged Faith
Week Three
Stories of Mercy & Forgiveness
Week Four
Stories of Simplicity & Joy
Week Five
Stories of Prayer & Surrender
Week Six
Stories of Transforming Love
I find St Lukes (and AA) an oasis of people that understand this in a town (and area) that puts a premium on appearances and fullness of self.
That’s so good—finding people and places that support us in seeking to live smaller and much more spacious lives.
Love this. Thanks.
Addicts say the AA 3rd Step Prayer–when we finally submit to God, finally admit we can’t recover on our own–: “God, I offer myself to Thee to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self…”
That’s what I thought of when I read your post today.
I like that—“Relieve me of the bondage of my self.” If you called it a church, no addict would come, but the Twelve Steps are pure spirituality.