He Must Increase

Homily for Saturday after the Epiphany

The Gospel passage for today is without question one of my favorite passages.

First of all, the context of the reading is so utterly human. The disciples of John are doing what is so natural. They are upset because someone is stealing their thunder. Someone is upstaging them. They have spent some time in the spotlight as John’s disciples. Now the spotlight is shining on someone else.

John’s response to this is what is endearing. He acknowledges that the situation is just as his disciples have described. Yes, someone is taking his place. However, he is just fine with this. He has done what was his to do. Now he is ready to step out of the spotlight and to let Jesus take his place. “He must increase, I must decrease.” Not only does he understand that it is time for him to move on, he tells us that he does so joyfully. His joy is complete.

Of course, the logical conclusion for us is to emulate this behavior. However, for human beings, it is difficult to live like this. We find ourselves being jealous of the success of others. We are not happy when someone succeeds and rises higher than we have. We live with the conviction that there is just so much goodness to go around. If someone gets more than I do, then I cannot be happy.

St. John reminds us that we all belong to God. None of us is standing on our own. Our successes are not necessarily our own. We are one in the One who is true, in Jesus Christ. He perfects us. He sanctifies us. His grace is the source of our life and being. In him is our true joy, complete and full.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator