Text
John 3:29-30
He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason, my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease
Reflection
The discussion that led to John’s statement started in verse 22 when John was baptizing at Aenon near Salim. Remember John had come earlier before Jesus and some people were even confused about the identity of John. Some thought he was the messiah himself and some thought that a great prophet had arisen. In today’s verse, the two are ministering in different environments and people were now flocking to Jesus and this should have resented John’s disciples. How can more people go to the one our master had testified? This might have been the question at the back of the minds of John’s disciples. It takes the humility of John himself who knew exactly who Jesus was to explain to them the hidden mystery. John knew that he was just a forerunner and he equates himself to the friend of a bridegroom while Jesus was the bridegroom himself. Therefore, the time had come for the glory of Christ to be manifested before the people. John understood that the time had ripe for him to decrease and for the Messiah to increase. This is the reason from now onwards he points people to the messiah and not to himself. Brothers and sisters, our role as Christians is to point people to the messiah not to ourselves regardless of the gifts and fame we possess. As we prepare for ash Wednesday tomorrow, let us take this people of fasting and prayer as a period of decreasing while God’s glory increases above everything else.
Collect
Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he
suffered death upon the cross: give us grace to perceive his glory,
that we may be strengthened to suffer with him and be changed
into his likeness, from glory to glory; who liveth and reigneth
with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. AMEN
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