Gospel (Jn 1,19-28) - This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent him priests from Jerusalem and stood up to ask him: "Who are you?". He confessed and did not deny. He confessed: "I am not the Christ." Then they asked him: «Who are you, then? Are you Elia?». “I'm not,” he said. «Are you the prophet?». “No,” he replied. They then said to him: «Who are you? So that we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? He replied: "I am the voice of one crying in the desert: Make the way of the Lord straight, as the prophet Isaiah said." Those who were sent were from the Pharisees. They questioned him and said to him: "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?". John answered them: «I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who comes after me: I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." This happened in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

This Gospel once again presents us with the Baptist, a just and austere man, who lives in the desert, far from the religious and political capital of Israel. Yet, many go to him to receive a baptism of penance and thus be regenerated to a more just and honest life. There was a great need for hope at that time. And isn't there a need for it even today, while we are still marked by dramatic events such as war and the increase in injustices that continue to destroy countless lives? The temptation to look for other cheap "saviors" is dangerous, and even more so if we think that everyone can be one for themselves. The Baptist had understood this well: he defined himself as "the voice of one crying in the desert". And what is a voice? Little more than nothing, if you compare it to the noise of weapons which is multiplying in this time. And for this reason attempts at dialogue and discussion seem obsolete. The Baptist reminds us that true words are not in vain, indeed they touch and change hearts. This word that showed a way - full of the vision of God - was his strength: a weak strength that however managed to touch the hearts of others. John is a figure of the witnesses of the Gospel, a figure of the Church itself: being an authoritative voice that indicates Jesus to the men of his time. Authoritativeness is clear if the Lord appears in the words, not oneself. How many times do we run the risk of putting ourselves and not the Lord at the center of the scene! The Baptist indicates Jesus. So too does the Church. We are not center stage. The only reason for the existence of the Church is to lead men and women of every generation to Jesus. Jesus will then guide their lives. The same is true for every disciple, be they a consecrated minister or a simple believer: we are all called to bring others to Jesus, not to ourselves.