THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST (SOLEMNITY)

He was in the desert. 

God works powerfully in the desert. In the desert, God led his people out of slavery from Egypt. Stripped of food and shelter, the Israelites met their Lord, and he set them free (Exodus 14). In the desert, Jesus fasted and prayed as he contended with the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). He emerged victorious and began to work mighty deeds. The desert is a place of great difficulty, but one filled with deep encounters with God.

On today’s feast of the birth of John the Baptist, we remember that God led him to the desert to prepare him for his mission. Wearing uncomfortable camel’s hair and living on “locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4), he made a deliberate choice to turn away from the comforts of the material world to experience God’s provision in the spiritual.

John was known for seeking the Lord through fasting and prayer, and believers like us throughout the centuries have followed his lead. In these “deserts,” we can retreat from the world, fast from temporary comforts, and seek the eternal God. So often, our daily lives are filled with noise, distractions, and temptations that clutter our minds and muddy our spiritual senses. But as St. Augustine says, “Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind . . . , [and] scatters the clouds” of our fallen desires.

Sometimes God calls us to deliberately reject the pleasures of the world to seek him. Other times we experience a “desert” simply through the difficulties in our lives. These hardships separate us from our usual means of comfort or sources of strength, but they can also stir up our longing for God. They can help us discover that God remains close to us, even amid our hardships, and that we can always depend on his grace.

Today, thank God for the witness of John the Baptist. And the next time you come face-to-face with hardship, follow his example. Embrace the desert! Seek the Lord and discover all he that he has for you.

“John, herald of the Messiah, pray for me that I may find grace in the desert.”

Isaiah 49:1-6
Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15
Acts 13:22-26
Luke 1:57-66, 80