Gospel
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,
where he spent some time with them baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned.
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
So this joy of mine has been made complete.
He must increase; I must decrease.”
John’s proclamation of who Jesus is and how he forms his life and mission around Jesus gives us inspiration for what we too must do.
The disciple that grows closer to Jesus will empty his life and world of everything that does not bring them closer to him. We will form our world around him. We will also decrease as he increases. The person we were before we knew Jesus is not who we are now. Right?
If nothing changed in our life by knowing Jesus Christ, then perhaps we do not know him well yet. Or we have not been deliberate in our faith journey.
We know that anything in life we seek and strive for. Every good thing we want requires a yes to that thing and a no to others.
We cannot develop skill and expertise in a line of work unless we focus on it and develop and plan to learn more and practice that field or trade. Only as we say yes to that work everyday do we find competence and skill and knowledge. As we focus and grow in our abilities we become skilled and expert and our work develops a value greater and greater. That is an awesome place to be. But it requires us to say yes first.
If we choose a wife or husband, we say yes to them above all others. We say no to all others. And as we grow in our bond with them we become one and the union and life we develop, by saying yes each day, is beyond any other relationship we could develop. And it is the most awesome relationship we will ever have. That is except for our relationship with Jesus Christ.
For like work or spouses, when we meet Jesus in scripture or worship, certainly in the Eucharist, we are called to say yes to him each day. It is that yes that must be intentional as the other yeses we commit, that are important. It must color everything else.
My work influences and is part of my life. I identify with it. I grow in it. Who I was before that work is not who I am now. It changes me. For the better. I bring more value and develop my life around it.
My marriage is integrated into my own identity. A husband and wife are truly one and united body and soul. Everyone in a valid marriage knows that they are now someone totally different. You can’t join in union with someone without being different… changed. The old single person decreases as the married person increases. It changes everything for us. And together the couple of greater than they were apart. Greater in what they offer the world and greater for each other.
So too, should our relationship with our God grow.
If we have intentionally said yes to Jesus Christ. We should be learning more about him continually. We should be praying more and more and giving him our day, our marriage, our work…everything, so we can form them to his will.
We must decrease being who we were before and increase being a follower of Jesus Christ. Doing all things for him. Offering all we are to him.
We will grow in our understanding and competence in doing his will. And our value and place in the kingdom will bring holiness in our life and be of great value to others who see Christ in who we are. That is our greatest goal in life. To be more like Christ as we can be. To be one like John, pointing to Jesus Christ in our life.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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