We are not like him, but ...

John, summoning two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?’ When the men reached Jesus they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you, to ask, “Are you the one who is to come or have we to wait for someone else?”’ It was just then that he cured many people of diseases and afflictions and of evil spirits, and gave the gift of sight to many who were blind. Then he gave the messengers their answer, ‘Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’ (Luke 7, 19-23)

St. John the Baptist, from his prison cell, asks Jesus by way of his disciples, if He really is the One who comes and for whom He has prepared the way. As St. John had indicated Jesus to some disciples as the Lamb of God while He was being baptised, this question is probably not intended to confirm the Baptist’s faith but rather that of his disciples. The Baptist is judged by the Lord as the greatest among those born of a woman before Himself because of his humility. We might not be saints like John, but at least we can try to imitate his courage to affirm the truth, which will condemn him to death, and his humility recognising that he too is in need of the salvation Jesus brings.