The Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors
Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son doesn't have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father. This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.
These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don't need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises!
This is John's testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
He declared, and didn't deny, but he declared, "I am not the Christ."
They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the prophet?"
He answered, "No."
They said therefore to him, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' 1:23 Isaiah 40:3 as Isaiah the prophet said."
The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"
John answered them, "I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don't know. He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to loosen." These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
We honor Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen today—two brilliant fourth-century bishops who defended the truth about Christ's divinity and helped shape how we understand the Trinity. Their friendship and shared commitment to truth speaks beautifully to what we hear in our readings.
What strikes me most about John the Baptist's testimony is his complete clarity about who he is—and who he isn't. When the religious authorities pepper him with questions, he doesn't hedge or try to make himself more impressive. "I am not the Christ," he declares simply. "I am a voice." There's something deeply freeing about this kind of honesty, this willingness to know our place in God's story without needing to be the main character.
John's humility points us toward the truth that echoes through First John: Jesus is the Christ, the one we confess and in whom we remain. In our age of competing voices and endless opinions, this remaining becomes both more challenging and more necessary. We're surrounded by messages that promise to teach us who we are and what we need, but John reminds us that we already have an anointing—the Spirit's presence—that guides us into truth.
I find it beautiful that John baptizes "among you stands one whom you don't know." Even in our most ordinary moments—the Wednesday afternoon meeting, the grocery store line, the conversation with a difficult neighbor—Christ stands among us, often unrecognized. Like Basil and Gregory, we're called to bear witness to this presence, not by making ourselves the center of attention, but by pointing beyond ourselves to the One who comes after us, whose sandal strap we're not worthy to loosen.
How might we practice John's kind of humble clarity about our role in God's story today? Where do we sense Christ standing unrecognized in our ordinary encounters? What would it look like to be simply "a voice" pointing others toward him?