THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

"Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand.  Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light."  So St. Paul wrote in his epistle to the Romans, and so the Holy Forerunner proclaims at the beginning of his ministry, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!"  Indeed, St. John was "a voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord!"

There are those who complete the whole course of this earthly life without having once awakened from the deep slumber of indifference and self-chosen ignorance concerning the illumining grace of God that guides us along the Path of Salvation towards the inexpressible glory of God's heavenly Kingdom.  For truly those who dwelt in the shadows of darkness and ultimate despair and held in thrall by the demonic powers that rule this world of sin and death beheld a great light when He Who enlightens every soul that comes into this world took flesh from the pure blood of a Virgin--trampling down death by death, and bestowing life upon those in the tombs.

The Holy Prophet, Forerunner and  Baptist John was born in a miraculous manner to a barren mother well past the age of childbearing in order to bear witness to this Light, to prepare the hearts of the people of Israel that they may "receive the King of all Who comes invisibly upheld by the angelic hosts."  For though St. John was  not himself the long-awaited Messiah, he was indeed the prophet appointed by God to bear witness to the Light of the World.  He surely did baptize with water unto repentance, but our Lord baptized with water and the Spirit--that the sons and daughters of men might be granted the gift of eternal life.

The Baptist truly is the greatest of those born of woman--yet he himself confesses that he is not worthy to unloose our Lord's sandals.  Nor did he ever exalt himself above his God appointed role, nor did he seek to draw attention to himself and his exalted role in the economy of salvation.  He proclaimed, on the contrary, that "I must decrease that He may increase."

Scripture confirms that St. John was "filled with  the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb," consecrated by God to "go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah."  Nevertheless, he sought for himself neither the glory of God nor the praise of men, but only that he might bear faithful witness even unto the end to One incomparably greater than himself.  May God by His grace strengthen us all, that we may ever strive to do likewise.

OF SWINE AND DEMONS

As Jesus passed over into the country of the Gergesenes, the demon possessed men emerged from the tombs where they dwelt and cried out, "What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God?  Have you come here to torment us before the Time?"  While the wicked Jewish leaders gnashed their teeth, persecuting our Lord while rejecting Him as the promised Messiah, even the demons believe--and tremble.0For they know full well that their days are numbered--that when Christ returns in glory at the end of time, they shall be cast into the lake of fire.

Meanwhile they struggle with artful cunning and demonic zeal to lead as many as they can to destruction, for they hate the human race with a passionate hatred we can barely conceive of.  That which they did to the swine--driving them violently headlong down the slope to perish in the waters--they would happily do to us, had not God set a limit forbidding them to kill us directly.

So the demons are forced to use more subtle means, influencing our minds through lies and deceptions to freely choose for ourselves the path of destruction.  The truth is: the demons can have no power over us unless we freely give it to them.  And so, we are lying to ourselves if we say, "The Devil made me do it."  The demons can and do suggest many things, injecting their insidious thoughts into our minds--but they can never prevail against us unless we ourselves give our consent.

The problem is, we do give our consent, time and time again, following their wicked counsels and willfully embracing their vile deceit.  Like the Jews of old, we may indeed "have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge."  For being ignorant of God's righteousness, we seek to establish our own righteousness rather than submit to the righteousness of God. 

For if we were truly willing to set aside our own self-willed thoughts and desires, committing ourselves totally to the fulfillment of God's commandments, then His grace and love would surely protect us from every demonic assault.  But God will never violate our free will--forcing us to tread the way of salvation.  The choice is ultimately ours--either eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom, or an eternity in a hell of our own making.

==============================================================

My two latest books--Conspiracy of the Ancients and Dystopian Tales--are now available from Amazon Books.  Just type in "Fr. Thomas Kulp."  I also wish to point our that I haven't been posting on my blog lately, because it seems that only one person is actually reading them.  I don't know who this one person is...but thanks!