A riot then broke out in the crowd, and security moved in to quell the disturbance. Although the man did not take part in the fighting, he was arrested because his insulting, bigoted remarks clearly caused the outbreak of violence. Sources inside the judiciary system say that he will easily be convicted of a hate crime; it’s a ‘no-brainer.’ More on this breaking story as it develops. Reporting for ACBS News, this is Dan Rather-Liberal."

You could entitle this news report: "John the Baptist in contemporary America." In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the perpetrator of this so-called "hate crime" is someone modeled specifically on John—on the person whom Jesus Christ called the "greatest man ever born of woman." As you will recall from Scripture, John’s parents were both old when he was born; the circumstances surrounding his birth were unusual (to say the least!); he publicly objected to the immoral sexual behavior of Herod Antipas, who had tried to marry his brother’s wife; and he preached a clear message about sin and repentance to everyone he met. In fact, if you substitute Abraham for George Washington, the words of this "dangerous criminal" are almost exactly the words of John the Baptist found in Luke 3, verses 7 and 8. Those, by the way, are the two verses which immediately follow the ones we heard in today’s Gospel reading.

Now I wish I could stand here this morning and tell you that this news report contains lots and lots of hyperbole, but I can’t do that. The dictionary defines hyperbole as "extravagant exaggeration;" but I don’t believe there’s any excessive exaggeration in the details of this news account, although it is fictitious as it stands. There’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever that if John the Baptist were walking the streets of our nation today, this is exactly the kind of thing he would do, and this is exactly how he would be treated.

That’s because—generally speaking—we do not want to hear about sin, especially sexual sin. Actually, I should clarify that—we do love to hear about such things in songs, and on TV talk shows and sitcoms, but we do not like it at all when these behaviors are called what they are: sins! And those who would remind us that these activities are sinful are normally demonized and ridiculed, especially in the press and mass media.

I’ll give you one example. Remember Sinead O’Connor, the pop singer? She was publicly criticized several years ago for tearing up a picture of the pope on national TV and saying to the audience as she did so, "Fight the real enemy." But isn’t that precisely what many of her sanctimonious critics were actually thinking about the Holy Father themselves? Let’s be honest about it: Sinead O’Connor was only saying what many of her media-attackers had been thinking and implying for years! And why do they consider the Holy Father—great man of peace that he is—to be their mortal enemy? It’s precisely because he opposes the immoral behavior which they glorify (and perhaps even engage in themselves): the drunkenness, the fornication, the adultery, the homosexual activity.

Do we really think John the Baptist would be treated any differently than John Paul II? I’m quite certain he would not. And given his bold and forceful style, you can be very confident that an incident like the one mentioned in this news report would happen sooner or later. John ended up in jail in the first century; he almost certainly would end up there in ours. We know what he said to King Herod: he publicly condemned the man’s adultery. For that, he was imprisoned and later beheaded. Can you imagine what he would have said to Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal? Now there’s some interesting food for thought! Of course, the sad irony is that those who would imprison a prophet like John the Baptist are actually the ones who are in prison themselves: captive to their lust or anger or greed or pride or envy or gluttony or sloth (or any combination of the above!).

During the rite of ordination, the bishop says something to the newly ordained priest which is based on the words of St. Paul found in today’s second reading—that text from Philippians 1. I mention it this morning because it has a certain application to all of us. The bishop says, "May God, who has begun the good work in you, bring it to fulfillment."

God began a "good work" in each of us on the day we were baptized: he gave us eternal life through Jesus Christ; he gave us sanctifying grace; he gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord intends this work to be brought to fulfillment on the day we meet him face to face, and hear him say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Can anything interfere with this good plan of God? Yes: mortal sin. If we commit a mortal sin and then do not repent, we freely allow the good work of the Lord to be undermined in us.

John the Baptist intuitively understood this, which is why he was so forceful and urgent in his message. And so, if he were physically among us today he would probably say—in his typically-passionate tone, "Don’t let it happen! Don’t allow the good work which God has begun in you to be undermined for any reason! Persisting in your sin is not worth it; allowing fear to keep you from confessing a mortal sin is not worth it. Repent, and let God’s good work be fulfilled in you."