Cardinal Cantalamessa: John the Baptist shows us ‘the scandal of God's humility'

By Joseph Tulloch

In his first sermon for Advent 2023, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa meditated on the figure of John the Baptist, and his roles as prophet and preacher.

The Cardinal, a Franciscan friar, delivered his homily on Friday morning to the Papal Household, including Pope Francis himself.

John as prophet

A key theme of Cardinal Cantalamessa’s reflection was Jesus’ description of John the Baptist as “more than a prophet”.

In what sense, he asked, is this the case? “Where does the prophecy lie? The prophets announced a future salvation. But John the Baptist does not announce future salvation; he points to someone who is present.”

John, Cardinal Cantalamessa said, counts as “more than a prophet” because he helped people to understand that the long-awaited Messiah was in front of them here and now.

“It is easy to believe in something grandiose, divine, when it appears in an indefinite future,” the Italian friar said. “More difficult is when you have to say, "Now! It's here! It's this!"

John the Baptist, he suggested, helps us to understand “the scandal of God’s humility”, who reveals himself “with such ordinary and modest appearances and origins.”

John as preacher

Cardinal Cantalamessa also reflected on John the Baptist’s role as a “preacher of conversion”.

John’s message, he said, is “Repent and thus the kingdom of God will come to you!”. He suggested that this stands in contrast to Jesus’ preaching, which has at its core the call to “Repent because the kingdom of God has come to you!".

“This,” Cardinal Cantalamessa said, “is not just a chronological difference, as between a before and an after; it is also a qualitative difference.”

“It means that it is not the observance of the commandments that allows the kingdom of God to come; but it is the coming of the kingdom of God that allows the observance of the commandments.”

John’s fervour

A final theme of Cardinal Cantalamessa’s reflection was John the Baptist’s “evangelical fervour”.

John, he noted, is “no great theologian”, and uses “very simple images” – “I am not worthy to untie the straps of his sandals”, he says of Jesus.

Nevertheless, Cardinal Cantalamessa emphasized, “How he manages to make us feel the greatness and uniqueness of Christ!”

The Italian friar then brought his reflection to a close by reading aloud a prayer to John the Baptist from the Orthodox tradition: