John tells the priests and Levites sent to him that he is the voice of the desert that cries out "make straight the way of the Lord" and who baptizes with water in preparation for the Messiah, one "whose sandal strap [he was] not worthy to untie."
John's humility is itself rather humbling. He gives up everything not for his own glory but for the glory of the Lord. It's his example that so many religious men and women who follow an ascetic life. While some are seeking only to remove themselves from the world, many choose that life out of devotion to the Lord and in preparation to His coming. It's not a life that I would choose (at least, not yet), but I have the utmost respect for those who do.
The second reading held a surprise for me today. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24 gives us a list of proper Christian conduct that includes: "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks ..." (which is all good advice) as well as "Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil."
"Test everything; retain what is good ..." Too often people believe blindly, but God instructs us to be better than that. We should have answers to the tough questions about our faith, not because we've memorized some other person's view, but because we have taken the time to look for answers ourselves. Not all of us can be like John the Baptist. We need to examine our lives and our faith and "retain what is good."