Saint John the Baptist, in his humility, recognizes and admits to the Pharisees and the scribes
and those who were sent out to trap him, that he was not the Christ.
But he will further also remind them that he is not the Christ
and he is able to make that declaration because he knows who the Christ is.
And he will remind the Pharisees and scribes that he who walks amongst them
and they do not see whose sandal straps he is unworthy to tie is greater than he.
And why is it that Saint John the Baptist could come to proclaim such profound truths?
Because he came to recognize in Christ
what the Pharisees could not recognize, that he was good and he was good because he was God.
And so we are struck with a profound mystery that Saint John was able to see the goodness of Christ
and in that he saw the goodness of God himself.
And so he saw what we are unable to perceive with our human eyes, that God is good.
And if God is good and all souls desire good, then all souls desire God.
And so Saint John the Baptist understood that when we pursue other things as the Pharisees and scribes
thinking that they will bring us the goodness we seek, then we are deceiving themselves.
And so we must come to know the one whom he pointed out,
the one whom he says of himself that he was a voice crying in the wilderness
to point the way to the Lord, to make straight the way of the Lord.
And so he came to see through the eyes of faith,
that the goodness of Christ was, and most especially he came to see this,
because the goodness he came to bring us was the forgiveness of our sins.
And so God truly is good because he is merciful to those creatures
whom in his justice he should have destroyed, but in his mercy he has redeemed.
And so let us be thankful as we begin to wind up the Christmas season,
to be thankful for this mystery, that the child who came to the cave at Bethlehem,
is the same one that Saint John the Baptist points out today.
And he is good because he is merciful.
He has not condemned us in our sins, but has sacrificed himself
in order that we may receive forgiveness for our sins.
And so let us strive to see that in all souls, even those caught in sins,
they perceive something to be good that is not good for them.
And so by our Christian example, an imitation of Saint John the Baptist,
we must point out to them the good they seek.
For all human beings, even when they sin, must in some way justify and perceive that sin
as a good for themselves. And so it is our mission to show
FOB,
and to show the world, that is good, is good.
We will be blessed.
We will be saved today with a way,
an example of the forgiveness of sins.
That is the seed,
that is your thanksgiving for yourselves.
SO were you thereites when you expenses onoshima?
Are you thereite now?
Are you there on Sunday?
And can you compare yourselves to us?
Thank you.
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Thank you for watching.