In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: “A voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.    

Mr. Incredible, the hero of the movie “The Incredibles” is a traditional superhero, enjoying fighting crime and saving lives. But the people are not unanimously grateful, and he is faced with so many lawsuits for unlawful rescue and inadvertent side effects that the government is forced to put him and his super-family into the Superhero Relocation Program, and become normal citizens. He complains, “They keep finding new ways to celebrate mediocrity.” But he cannot sit still and watch people get hurt.  He feels that he must use the powers that he has to help people.  

Probably no literature has ever compared John the Baptist to Mr. Incredible. But without too much imagination, one can sense that the preacher of the Judean desert and Bob “Mr. Incredible” Parr have some things in common. One of them, in particular, was the desire to use the gifts that they had for the good of someone else.
 
John the Baptist was completely focused on one thing in his life, namely calling people to recognize their roles in the problems of our world. He told the people who came to listen to him, and he tells us: accept the personal responsibility of sin in your life, and “repent” because there is much more to life than what you selfishly desire. He uses the gifts that he has—the gifts of preaching and a captivating personal style—to urge his listeners to a new way of life, or simply to do good instead of evil.

Likewise, Mr. Incredible cannot stop doing good for people, even though the government has found a way to officially silence him. In his mind, he had gifts, and he was called to use the gifts he had on behalf of others.

We do not have the gifts of either a John the Baptist or Mr. Incredible, but we do have gifts. We can help people. We can console a classmate, we can help a parent, we can show love to someone who needs it. The fact is that there are many who need help, and there are many who can give it. The important choice for us is to accept the challenge to do the good that we can.                      

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your servant John the Baptist prepared for your Son by using the gifts that you gave to him to bring about good. Help us understand that we have gifts, and that we can use them for the good of others. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America