DAILY HOMILIES #St. Agatha

Why, then, did Jesus say that John the Baptist is Elijah that is to come? 1) To show that the prophecy about the return of Elijah has come to pass. This implies that Jesus is truly the Messiah. 2) To emphasise (praise) John the Baptist’s excellence. Note that Jesus’s words, at this point, were a funeral oration for John the Baptist, who had just been beheaded. 3) To teach us that we remain alive as long as people continue our good works. Elijah died, yet he was alive in John the Baptist.

Dear friends, let brotherly love continue. Do not be a Herod to someone just because he or she is telling you the truth. Do not be like the kinsfolk of Jesus who were almost throwing him down the cliff because He told them the truth.