Today’s Gospel passage identifies the appearance of John the Baptist with the expected return of the prophet Elijah. John, the herald of Christ, appears in the desert. Here, he stands for all of us in the desert of sin, the lifeless place. It is as though John purposely went there to remind us of our need for grace. Fr. Rolheiser asks us to pray for the grace to know Jesus more deeply so that we may abundantly love and follow him. No one born of woman is greater than John the Baptist, and yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. This doesn’t quite seem congruous. Why so great in one regard and seemingly so unimportant in another? John himself answers that question when they ask him if he is the Messiah. He replies unequivocally that he is not the Messiah and isn’t even worthy to fasten the Messiah’s sandal strap. How does he see the difference between himself and the Messiah? The Messiah comes baptizing with fire, whereas John comes baptizing with water. What’s the difference? Water can only cleanse something that is encrusted in dirt. You can power-wash an old lamp that you find in the sand, but water will only make it clean; it can’t really change the lamp. Fire can melt down. Fire can change a shape. Fire can transform something into something else. Water is a symbol of repentance; fire is a symbol of grace. John the Baptist can tell us what’s wrong with us; he can name our sins. But naming alone, valuable as it is, does not give us the grace, the strength to change our behavior, to free ourselves of our addictions. We need fire, grace, and Jesus, not just water, repentance, and John. John deconstructs us; Jesus puts us back together. John is a prophet; Jesus is a Savior.