John’s voice resounds with vigor even today because it was animated by a great hope: “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me” (Mk 1:7). The one who came after John was Jesus, “the one who is more powerful”.
Jesus is more powerful than John because He doesn’t need the water of the Jordan to give us life; for Him, he only needs to immerse us in the life-giving water of His Spirit. Jesus is the one who is more powerful because he hasn’t condemned us; instead, he loved us to the end. Jesus is the one who is more powerful because he gave birth to hopes that were so great that even death on the cross couldn’t dash them. Jesus is the one who is more powerful because he embodies the power of God’s tenderness.
Jesus is the one who is more powerful because, in spite of everything, he always comes to meet us; he knows us and calls us from within the depths of our hearts. To trust in the love of the one who is more powerful and to abandon our lives into his hands is to begin to live.
Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of Managua
Homily, Second Sunday of Advent (excerpt)
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