The Feast of Saint John the Baptist, A Homily

John, born in darkness

bore witness to the light

 

A faint spark in the deep night

 

He saw the light and felt its warmth

While preaching by the riverside

And eating honeyed locusts in the wild 

 

John baptized Jesus, who showed him the way

John of the desert, adorned in camel’s hair

John the repentant took the way before him

 

The way is not in stillness or silence, John taught us

The way is found through service, Jesus showed us

Humility with grace

 

John…was comforted by Sophia

Ruha…washed him in living flame

while Salome danced for her father

demanded his head, and the soldiers came

 

John baptized in the Jordan

he was not perplexed by his fate

having turned toward the divine

he was not tempted to turn away  

 

From the Gospel According to Mark