We continue to hear the preaching of John the Baptist, which might seem to make more sense during Lent, since his preaching took place as Jesus himself began his ministry as an adult, and not before his birth. But we read it now, in preparation for the birth of Jesus, to call our attention to who it is that is about to be born.

Jesus presents John the Baptist as the greatest human being born of woman up until that point, the greatest figure of the Old Testament. But then he says something interesting, “Yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

The Kingdom of heaven is the New Covenant that Jesus came to establish, and Jesus says that in this kingdom there is someone greater than John.

The early Church interpreted this as Mary. There are ancient icons of the risen Christ with John the Baptist on one side and Mary on the other. This depicts John, the greatest prophet of the Old Covenant, and Mary, the greatest saint of the New Covenant, since she is the Mother of God. What makes her the greatest is not her own humanity, but the fruit of her womb, Jesus.

One of the changes that came with this transition is our confrontation with sin. John the Baptist speaks about repentance and the need to overcome the condition of sin, but he has no way of offering an actual solution beyond acknowledging that we do, in fact, have sin. The only thing he can offer is a ritual baptism that remains tied to the Old Covenant of repetition and its constant need for temple sacrifice.

John calls Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Notice the use of the singular word sin, not sins. The singular sin refers to our human inability to cooperate fully with God’s grace. Also notice the description of Jesus as a lamb, one of the preferred animals in the Old Covenant for repeated sacrifice. By applying this image to Jesus in the context of the singular sin, John is saying that Jesus is the perfect and final sacrifice, one that actually provides a solution to the condition of sin.

Jesus takes away sin by immersing us into the life of grace. In the New Covenant, the baptism instituted by Jesus gives the human heart the power of the Holy Spirit, opening the hardened heart to God and equipping the person with the gifts of the Spirit. These gifts are meant to enrich the community and build up the Kingdom of heaven, rather than place us in competition with one another.

The birth of Jesus, while we do see a cute baby, is about the confrontation of sin. That is important for us, and for our children, to understand. Otherwise, Christmas remains at the level of a cute story, rather than something that makes a real and tangible difference in our lives.

Since the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Church has placed a strong emphasis on the formation of children in the Catholic faith. We have developed programs, resources for catechesis, and years of age-appropriate preparation for children to receive their sacraments. And yet, many still walk away from the faith, at least for a time, after Confirmation. I was one of those who walked away from the faith in my teenage years.

One reason may be that we have not done as good a job forming adults in the faith. As a result, for many Catholics, their understanding of God remains at a childhood level. It is no wonder, then, that many leave when they see the faith as nothing more than sacramental preparation and moral stories.

The taking away of sin has to penetrate to the very heart of our adult lives. Isaiah says, “Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak. Say to those whose hearts are frightened, be strong, fear not.”

Allowing Jesus to take away sin from our lives means confronting the things that give sin its power in our hearts, beginning with fear. This came up in the reading about Moses and the serpents in the desert. The way to overcome fear is exposure, slowly and intentionally confronting what frightens us so that fear loses its grip. Fear is part of the power of sin, which is why Jesus so often tells the disciples, “Do not be afraid.” In fact, the very last words of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel are an affirmation against fear, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Fear immobilizes us. It keeps us from moving forward. It locks us in the past and traps us in ruts where we are afraid to change. Fear can also convince us that we are not good enough. That, too, is a form of sin, the belief that who God created us to be is insufficient, leading us either to compete with others or to believe that God will never really accept us.

So part of the invitation this Advent season is to confront our fears honestly, acknowledge them, and ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us. “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Isaiah continues, “Here is your God, he comes with vindication, he comes to save you.” One of the oldest images for salvation is ransom. “Those whom God has ransomed will enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy.” In the Old Testament, prisoners of war needed to be ransomed, set free through intervention.

Sin holds many people captive. It is a power rooted in the emotional life, feeding on shame, anger, inadequacy, and fear. Jesus takes away the sin of the world when we allow him to forgive us completely. This happens when we acknowledge our weaknesses. In the Gospels, people confess their sinfulness before Jesus, and he does not scold or condemn them. He forgives them and sets them free.

For me, one of the greatest sins a priest can commit is making someone feel judged in the confessional. It pains me when people share how negative experiences there drove them away from the Church for years.

Jesus asks, “What did you go out to the desert to see, a prophet?” In every age, people seek voices that condemn what they fear. The shame of defeat in World War I opened Germany to Adolf Hitler, who promised restoration but brought devastation. Vladimir Putin, shaped by the collapse of the Soviet Union, spoke of humiliation and loss, and that unhealed shame has brought the world to war again. Vengeance is the rotten fruit of fear, and it does not take away the sin of the world.

John asks Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” The answer is no, there is no need to look for another. Only Jesus can take away the sin of the world. The Letter of James gives us two insights into how to move beyond the condition of sin.

First, sin always affects relationships. There is no such thing as purely personal sin. We are bound together in solidarity. James says, “Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged.” Relationships bring out both the best and the worst in us. We must acknowledge when the worst emerges, rather than becoming stubborn or resentful. Often, the people we complain about most are those who mirror our own weaknesses.

Second, healing is a process. James says, “Be patient. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth.” The fruit is new life in Christ, and it takes time. We must be patient with ourselves, and with others, as we grow.

At Christmas, many people come to church who do not usually come, the Christmas and Easter only churchgoers. There is a temptation to judge them. But our responsibility as regular worshippers is to welcome anyone who walks through our doors, especially those who might otherwise be dismissed as misfits or irreverent, with the same tender mercy that Jesus shows us in our own misery.

Family, “the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist.” Our Blessed Mother is the model of what it means to be least. As we join her and all the saints, let us open our hearts to Christ with confidence and renew our commitment to grow as adults in the new life that Jesus offers us.