John the Baptist

Today is the feast day of John the Baptist. The homily given by my pastor was simple short and effective: "In the words of John the Baptist 'I must decrease so He can increase.'"

This statement is a focal point in the Gospels. Even more so it is from the person who Jesus calls the greatest man to live. It is completely counter to everything we are ever taught in our culture. So even deeper it is one of the essentials to the Christian lifestyle.

Just like living the Sermon on the Mount is something that is only attainable by the Saints, this idea of doing all things for not you own glory but for that of Jesus is also Saintly. For even in writing this blog I hope I have better opportunities in life for doing so. This idea of decreasing your own self in order to lift up something else is not only in the Gospel message but is the core of the Kantian Good Will.

Kant wants to say the only way one can determine if they have a good will is if they are willing to do something that will hurt themselves but they know it is the right thing to do. This seems to be the idea of John here as well. He must decrease his ministry so that people do not miss the Messiah. How difficult it must be to stop what you love to teach just so you don't guide someone the wrong way.