John the Baptist is the one who, despite unimaginable obstacles, does not cease in his consistent work upon himself.
In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying:
Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Matthew 3:1–3)
Who is this extraordinary servant – John? This noble earthly personality who, through superhuman effort, strives to become a ‘man of humility’, so as to prepare a place for the God-Man? The one who lays his head, his ‘self” under the axe, in order to fully cooperate in the process of awakening the true Son of God from his earthly sleep?
Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:11)
John the Baptist is the one who, despite unimaginable obstacles, does not cease in his consistent work upon himself. He overcomes all obstacles one by one, step by step approaching the goal. And the goal is not for himself, nor is it for the perfection of his own personality. John works for the Other within him, for Jesus.
He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)
He works in solitude, not looking back at others, for in the wilderness, where human souls are immersed in lethargy, few walk this path. And even so, no one could do this work for him; John must perform it himself. He must dedicate himself to it entirely.
Even the Sublime Brothers who have gone this path before him and serve as his irreplaceable support cannot carry out this sacred work for him. He knows this. He has experienced too much in the cycle of birth and death to deceive himself any more. He moves forward, expecting neither praise nor reward.
And John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a girdle of a skin about his loins, and he did eat locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:6)
John also knows that on this path there is no place for compromise. Truth has no shadows; there are no half-truths, incomplete truths, or ‘alternate’ truths. He is thus uncompromising in his pursuit of his goal. He will not fear even the formidable Herod, but confronts him directly with the reality that he acts against the Law of God.
For John had said unto Herod: It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. (Mark 6:18)
He reproaches Herod! The one who inspired such fear that no one else dares to even hint at his wicked behaviour. For John had recognized Herod within himself; he knew what it meant to try to compromise with the world of transience. He knew it meant ‘killing children’ – that is, extinguishing the emerging rays of Light within.
John is a man of action, liberating action. For it is precisely through acting and experiencing that he gains knowledge of how to walk the Path and what step to take next. His ordinary natural consciousness cannot grasp that which crowns this path.
Now when John had heard in prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples. And he said unto him: Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? (Matthew 11:2–3)
The ordinary human mind cannot comprehend this exalted vibration. John long ago stopped deceiving himself that he could grasp it with his natural mind. This liberating action releases the knowledge that flows from Gnosis, which assures and strengthens him in pursuing the goal.
This magnificent worker in the Lord’s vineyard already knows that making the Lord’s paths straight is an arduous work of purifying and preparing a place for Him. First, one must cleanse the inner self of all inappropriate astral and mental influences in order to create an inner space of silence, where the whispers of God become ever more clearly audible, and the transformation of man is carried out by the Light.
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Matthew 3:11)
John knows that the natural man cannot transform himself – he can only surrender everything he is and with full trust say: “Not my will, but your will be done”. And so, gradually, the Other, Jesus, reveals himself at the appropriate moment, to whom John unhesitatingly fully surrenders himself.
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized by him. But John forbad him, saying: I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him. Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. (Matthew 3:13–15)
Then, there remains only the final step — when John voluntarily lays his head, his ‘I-being’, upon the axe. He does this with full conviction that after all this arduous work, the true Son of God will be resurrected in all his fullness and unity.
And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heaven were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And, lo a voice from heaven saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:16–17)
There is no greater reward for the labouring through the desert, than this very moment!
Have you already set out on this path of John?
