What did you go out to the desert to see?”

????Jesus asked the people what exactly they were looking for. As he pointed out, they did not go to see John because he was weak or uninspiring. They didn’t rush to see him because he was wealthy or handsomely garbed. They went out into the desert to see him because he spoke words of hope and salvation. All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, and who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God.

????Jesus speaks the words that fulfill the deepest longings of our hearts. We all want to be loved, to feel that our lives have meaning and purpose. We know that the “handsome garments” as lovely and enjoyable as they may be, will not fulfill this deep need in our hearts. Jesus reassures us that what we seek is available to us. In his Kingdom, each and every one of us is equally cherished and loved by the Father. The words of Jesus “among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he” imply and confirm his great and personal love for each of us. We are all equals in the love of our Father, who has a beautiful and perfect plan for every human being. It is up to us whether or not we invite him into the daily work, struggles, sufferings, and joys of our lives.

????We must leave behind our comfort and luxury and face reality as it is: disturbed by consumerism and selfishness we have forgotten what God is expecting from us. Jesus seems to want us to get rid of that eagerness of ours for a futile curiosity, of the arrogance the Pharisees and Masters of the Law showed by looking down upon God's plans for them by ignoring John's call. We realize that only our “knowledge of God” will not save us; we must know Him, love Him and follow Him; we need a response from deep inside us, sincere, humble and grateful. He offers us the gift of his forgiveness and his presence; He breaks whatever distance between us; He knocks at our door. Humble, patient, now He knocks at your heart: in your desert, in your loneliness, in your failings, in your incapacity, He wants you to see his love.

????Let us thank God for the implicit meaning of today’s Gospel. When God says that the least person in the Kingdom is greater than John, He is revealing just how special we are to Him. Let us rest in the assurance of His deep and abiding love for us. God Bless!