He lived on his own out the in the wilderness. He wore a leather belt at his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. And he converted the hearts of many to love the God that created them.
St. John baptized people, was Jesus' first cousin, and told people ahead of time that the One coming after him (Jesus!) was Someone Whom he was unworthy to even loosen the sandal straps of!
Of course, Jesus allowed himself to be baptized by John, not because He needed to be cleansed of original sin, but rather because He wanted to show us by example the importance of the sacrament.
Then the sky opened up and God was seen in the form of a dove, and our Heavenly Father spoke about His love for His Son, which I believe is once of only two times in the Bible where God the Father is heard speaking out loud. And this moment is a beautiful mystery of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary!
When you teach young kids about St. John the Baptist, it's fun to get caught up in the fact that he ate locusts and wild honey. Obviously, his diet was one of the least important things about St. John's life, but it's still fun and interesting to know!
So, after mass the other day at a church we had never been to before, I spotted a beautiful mosaic on the wall, showing the baptism of Jesus. Since the children have heard this Bible story many times before, I decided to ask Liam what the picture was depicting.
"Jesus is getting baptized," he said correctly. Then I asked who the other man was, and he correctly said, "John the Baptist!" Then I asked one more question.
"Can you tell me what he ate?" I asked.
Liam paused for a moment, looking down. Then he excitedly looked up at me and said, "Was it cicadas and peanut butter?"
I burst into laughter, so joyful that he indeed paid great attention to our Bible story lessons but finding it so funny that he used a near-synonym for the bug and a similar sweetener that we often like to put on our toast.
Cicadas and peanut butter! I love Liam's heart! And I know God does, too. :)
