John knows who he is not. Honest self‐knowledge is an essential step on the path to holiness. John is attracting the attention of the multitudes in Israel. Many people would perhaps be flattered or even intoxicated with such celebrity status. Yet John is not grasping for power, nor does he seek to be someone he is not; rather he is preparing men’s hearts for the true Christ. The Evil One will continually try to get us to look to ourselves and our own talents in an attempt to distract our eyes from God and his plan for us. John gives us a shining example of the triumph of humble selfknowledge over the wiles of the devil. When we, too, are totally focused on God, we feel compelled to eliminate from our personal lives any duplicity, vanity or inflated self‐esteem. We begin to live in the truth, rightly valuing all the gifts God has bestowed on us to use in service of his Kingdom, without taking anything for ourselves since everything is his. (Father Shawn Aaron, LC)