John 1:23 with St. Augustine
He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
In the first scene of the fourth gospel, John the Baptist is questioned by the priests and Levites as to his identity and his mission. To answer them he employs an image from an important prophecy from the book of Isaiah (cf. Isa. 40:3): he is the voice preparing the way of the Lord. This passage declares the good news that Israel has been longing to hear. A messenger in the desert will signal that this is the appointed time of consolation and comfort. This is the moment that God is coming to visit his people (cf. Isa. 40-66). To draw out the meaning of this image of the “voice,” St. Augustine asks us to reflect on the relation between the voice and the word in our everyday speech. The message or word that is spoken by us first begins in the heart of the individual. The person then seeks to communicate it to another “so that what is already in my in my mind may also be found in yours,” as Augustine phrases it. What makes this exchange possible is the sound of the voice. Although the sound dissipates once the word is uttered, the spoken truth remains both in the heart of the one who speaks and in the hearer. Augustine sees this reality as symbolic of the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. John is the voice and Christ is the Word. John’s ministry is the voice of one breaking the silence so that Christ, the Word, might be received in the hearts of believers. Despite this exalted ministry, the Baptist’s work is one of humility. At the height of his apostolic activity, John does not seek to grow his own ministry apart from the Incarnate Word. He is content directing others to Christ. He aims to make Christ known as he himself fades into the background. Augustine praises John’s clarity in mission: “he identified himself, he pointed out the difference between the Christ and himself, he humbled himself.” In our Christian life, we need to imitate St. John the Baptist. Whether it be on our lips or in our hearts, we echo the words of the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30).[1]
