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Some of you may remember the W.W.J.D? bracelets that people wore back in the 90s. "What would Jesus do?" The idea of these bracelets was to remind us, when we come across various choices and situations that we encounter in life, to stop and think about how Jesus would react in a situation like this.
The trouble with this is that we often find ourselves unable to act the way Jesus would because He is the one and only perfect human being. That's not to say we shouldn't follow His example. We should. But we should also realize that we are ever striving to be more like Jesus every single day of our lives.
I would like instead to trade in W.W.J.D? for W.W.J.B.D? "What would John the Baptist do?"
John the Baptist went out to be "the voice crying in the wilderness: 'prepare the way of the Lord.'" He's there not to be Jesus, but to point out the path leading to Him. He's not there to be perfect, but to help us realize that we need to turn back towards the path that leads us back to God.
John the Baptist didn't do that by upholding himself to others. He humbled himself. He lived in the desert, ate bugs and honey, and wore clothes that were nowhere near fashionable. His message was so not about himself.
In fact, John the Baptist proclaims, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals."
John the Baptist's life was not about himself. Not at all. It was all about Jesus. It was all about directing people towards Jesus. It was about helping people to get ready to meet God incarnate as Man.
Why say W.W.J.B.D?, What would John the Baptist do? Because John the Baptist's mission is our mission. It's part of our Baptismal Covenant: "Will you proclaim by word and example the good News of God in Christ?" We're all called to be signposts, just like John the Baptist, to help lead others to Jesus Christ. And we are supposed to use every part of our lives to do that.
That doesn't mean we're all called to go out in the desert. Not all of us are called to be so separated from society, neither do all of us have the ability to attract people where we are, like John the Baptist did. But we are all called to form our lives in such a way that makes people stop and look and say "what is it that makes this person this way?" We're called to make our lives that stop sign that makes people think, that gets them into that first conversation to bring them closer, once again, to God.
We don't push people into faith, but we bring them in gently, in God's time not ours. Because at the end of the day, it's not about us. It's not about what we are doing. We are just the first step, the sign on the highway, that points back to God. Our life, our example, and, yes, even our words and proclamations are meant to be that first step to show people where God is. Jesus will take care of the rest.