Fr. Ryan: St. John the Baptist gives us three great tips

Luke 3:10-18: The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

By FATHER STEPHEN RYAN, S.D.B.
Guest columnist

In the Gospel, people ask John the Baptist what they ought to do.

At the time this scriptural event occurred – 2,000 years ago – there was a lot of stress in the world. Palestine was a Roman colony, and there were wars, political upheaval and even various opinions about religion.

People were looking for God’s help and a sense of direction. They approached John. He was a great prophet who was preaching and baptizing by the Jordan River. “What should we do?” they asked.

All these years later – in 2021 – people are in the same situation. There seems to be a lot of political problems and stress. There are even lots of opinions about religion. We are still asking ourselves: “What should we do?”

John the Baptist gave three recommendations to the people of his time, and I think they can apply to us today in our stressful world. He said: 1. Share 2. Be fair 3. Be humble.

Let’s break it down.

• Share: God’s desire for us on this earth is to share the blessings that we have received. We are called to be generous. John the Baptist preaches clearly that God’s will for us is to share. He says, “Whoever has two coats should share with a person who has none.” and “Whoever has extra food should do likewise.” Sharing is very needed in today’s world. There are a lot of people needing food, friendship and prayer. We can be the ones who give it to them! So, amidst the stress of life, don’t be selfish. A selfish attitude just makes things worse in the world. Share your love, share your things and share your time with others.

• Be Fair: John the Baptist told the tax collectors and the soldiers to be fair and to treat everyone the same. He preached that everyone has dignity and should be respected. Giving special favors to some people, while disregarding others, is not God-like. It hurts society and causes division. The Gospel calls us to be just in all we say and do. In our world today, we are called to practice fairness so that the two extremes – favoritism on one hand, and neglect on the other – will not dominate our culture.

• Be Humble: When the people asked the prophet what they needed to do, he told them to be humble. John the Baptist said: “Jesus must increase and I must decrease.” He said that his cousin Jesus was so great that he wasn’t even worthy to touch his sandals. For us today, humility is crucial for growth as spiritual people. If we act like we just want to be left alone and don’t need friends or family, we won’t learn how to love properly. If we think we can handle all the stress in life on our own and don’t need God’s help, things will eventually become overwhelming. We need God. John the Baptist points us to Jesus.

May Jesus come into our hearts this Christmas, and may we take the advice of John the Baptist – share, be fair and be humble.

Salesian Father Stephen Ryan is director/head of school at Archbishop Shaw High and chaplain of Academy of Our Lady, both located in Marrero. Father Ryan, who taught at Archbishop Shaw from 1986-88, has been a professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco for 36 years. He was ordained a priest on May 31, 1992, at St. Anthony Parish in Nanuet, New York.