(John the Baptist) said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. (John 1:23)
“Who is our John the Baptist, and how do we treat them?” the priest asked at the opening Mass of the 2017 Simbang Gabi novena at a parish near me. (Simbang Gabi has its roots in the Philippines, and the novena Masses, starting at 5 a.m. on December 16, have been a big part of my Advent for the past ten 
years or so.)
The celebrant suggested we consider how we treat the Lord’s messages received from John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jesus. If we haven’t been listening, Advent and the novena’s early-morning sacrifice are a good way to begin, he advised.
About 250 people were there this morning. The Mass was a little different from most years; our pianist has moved away, and the guitarist wasn’t able to join us. But the choir was John the Baptist to us, leading us through the usual mix of Tagalog/English/Spanish songs and prayers. My friend Litong was John the Baptist to us, welcoming everyone and leading the novena prayer. His wife Rachel, queen of the Simbang Gabi kitchen, was John the Baptist to us, promising to bring soup for the Monday “gringo” breakfast and thanking us profusely for the little my friends and I will do to feed the crowd that day. My friends Mimi, Karen, Patrick, and Henri were John the Baptist to me as they always are, smiling and chatting and listening.
And I pray that in some way I may or may not recognize, I will be John the Baptist to someone today.
