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 == Friday, Oct 11: "none greater than John the Baptist" ==
-I like call him "the Baptizer."  Interestingly, in some Orthodox churches, he is known as "Saint John the Forerunner," which speaks more clearly to his Biblical role. Most western believers think of John only in terms of the Baptism of Christ, but if we listen to Jesus himself, there's a lot more to John than than that to which we usually attest about him.
+<blockquote>A man named John was sent from God. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?6 Jn 1:6])</blockquote>I like call him "the Baptizer."  Interestingly, in some Orthodox churches, he is known as "Saint John the Forerunner," which speaks more clearly to his Biblical role. Most western believers think of John only in terms of the Baptism of Christ, but if we listen to Jesus himself, there's a lot more to John than than that to which we usually attest about him.
 One historical approach we can employ here is to apply a counter-factual, in this case, removal of John from the moment in order to test alternative outcomes. Obviously, God does what God does, so with or without John, Jesus is. Nevertheless, by thinking over John's absence, we can better grasp his importance and why Jesus said of him,<blockquote>"Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11:11 Mt 11:11])<ref>"among those born of women" implicitly affirms of Jesus' divinity, as well as the existence of angels.</ref></blockquote>Matthew 11 continues with Jesus' explanation for why John was so great:<blockquote>From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.
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 Notice how John's role is consistent with God's "Plan of Salvation" through which that plan is revealed (thus "Revelation") incrementally. God wants us to operate through our own agency, which is why he uses prophets and intercessions. He selected his people through Abraham, he gave them the Law through Moses, and sent prophets to correction and guidance. Rather than just appearing as a man, he came to us through a woman, Mary. And rather than just announcing himself, he brought attention to his arrival through the Baptizer.
-John's work was completed following his Baptism of Jesus (see [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/3?13 Mt 3:13], [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/1?9 Mk 1:9] and [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/3?21 Lk 3:21]) and his own martyrdom, so he disappears from the Gospel stories -- yet, Jesus upholds him as "none greater" among men.
+John's work was completed following his Baptism of Jesus (see [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/3?13 Mt 3:13], [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/1?9 Mk 1:9] and [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/3?21 Lk 3:21]) and his own martyrdom, so he disappears from the Gospel stories -- yet, Jesus upholds him as "none greater" among men, likely because John is the last of the Old Testament prophets and thereby the one who announces the Messiah in person.<ref>John also announces the Holy Spirit ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/1:8 Mk 1:8]) that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1:30 Jn 1:30]) that he is the Son of God ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?34 Jn 1:34]), and that he will be the perfect sacrifice, "the Lamb of God" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1:36 Jn 1:36])</ref> The Old Testament revelation thereby ends with John, which is why he says ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/3:30 Jn 3:30]),  <blockquote>"He must increase; I must decrease.”  </blockquote>On considering that passage from John 3, we need to consider one last aspect of John and his mission, the best man at the wedding of Christ and his bride, the Church ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/3:29 Jn 3:29]):<blockquote>The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete</blockquote>
 ----Note: there yet exists a cult of John the Baptism. These are known as "Mandaeans," a gnostic sect that believes John the Baptist was the final prophet from God.
 ----Site of Michael's baptism, Oct 10, 2021: [[File:2021-10-10 site of Michael's Baptism pano w- DJ.jpg|none|thumb|1051x1051px|An industrial stream in lower central Pennsylvania.]]