"What will this child turn out to be?" Maybe for most of us, when we were born, our parents may have so wondered. There was much more wonder about John the Baptist when news of the strange and marvellous things that happened at his naming ceremony spread around, and people treasured in their hearts what they had heard (St Luke's gospel). In Luke's presentation of the story, John is obviously someone 'special', who turned out to be the immediate herald of the Messiah, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the whole people, and the first to point out to the world, Jesus, God- with-us. Of John, Jesus was to say there was no greater man ever born.

For me and my fellow-Christians today, then, who is this John of whom Jesus Himself spoke so highly? And what can I learn from him? Many people went to listen to him when he began preaching in the desert, telling people to repent, to change their lives. He also said that he had to become less important, so that Jesus could become more so. John's austere desert life, his fasting, his message and his attitudes may not appeal much to modern people, perhaps this is because we have not really understood his full meaning. Could it be that we are not humble enough to appreciate our weaknesses or of the need we have of being 'saved' and forgiven?