A friend of mine is a great water polo player. That’s not something that you hear very often. And it’s not because people don’t want to be friends with people who play water polo. It’s because there aren’t that many water polo players in the world. Water polo players spend hours in the water. My friend’s hair actually would turn green from the chlorine in the water. His hands were perpetually wrinkled. He was always practicing for this sport that most of us know little, and care little, about. And normally, my interest and my concern about water polo is pretty much non-existent. But because of my friend, and most especially because my friend gets so excited about this sport, I find myself more interested in water polo, something that I know very little about, than what I ever would have thought. My friend is on fire for water polo. If he could talk to every kid, every kid in the country would want to play water polo. His enthusiasm and love for the game, his energy, and his genuine excitement, just make you want to care about this stupid sport. But he loves it so much, it’s a little strange.

You know, John the Baptist was a little strange also. He lived out in the desert. He ate grasshoppers and honey. He was a wild man, shouting out loud, about preparing for the Messiah. It was easy to be put off by John. Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about him was the way that he always seemed to be looking for someone else. Every meet anybody like that? Engage John the Baptist in a conversation and he spends the whole time looking right past you as though he is expecting someone else, or searching for someone else. And he was. At all times, John was looking for the One that he was the herald for. And oh how excited John was about the coming Messiah. And yet, there was something that was extremely attractive about John also. John the Baptist was a man on fire too. He was on fire for a God that he had not ever seen. He was preparing the way for this Messiah that he had no idea who He was. John the Baptist realizes that God is about to do something really incredible in this world, and he is intent on not missing it. And when John sees that expected presence of God in Jesus, he loudly and clearly declares it: “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”. Hearing John’s words in our Gospel today is like listening to somebody who is breathless with excitement as they tell you about what they have seen or done. It’s like listening to my friend talk about water polo. John’s excitement makes us excited. John’s enthusiasm has to make us enthusiastic.

Sometimes, when I look at the Catholic Church today, I wonder if John’s enthusiasm isn’t what the Church most needs today. Why aren’t we who know who The Messiah is, more excited and enthusiastic about Jesus? Have we lost the vision? We come to Mass, and we go through the motions, and sometimes we move our lips and sometimes we don’t move our lips. And we do this every week! Where’s our enthusiasm? Where’s our excitement over what God has done and over what God is doing? You know, it was only three weeks ago that we were celebrating Christmas. Have we become lethargic so soon? We put the decorations away, we stopped singing Christmas hymns, the priest went back to wearing green, and presto – chango : all of our enthusiasm and excitement is gone. Has it all happened so soon? No, but it can happen. With God’s help, we must not let it happen.

Christmas is over; but the Christ lives on. The gifts have all been opened, but God keeps giving. Everybody else is taking down their lights, and yet Christ our Light still shines for us in the darkness of the world. John the Baptist knew of the power of Christmas before it happened, and he never lost the excitement and enthusiasm of Christmas: not when he grew up, not when he was out in the desert preaching, and not even when they cut his head off. By our enthusiasm, by our energy, by our commitment and excitement, we must keep Christmas and Christ in our lives every day. John the Baptist’s passion becomes our model for living the Christian life in word and deed.

If my friend can generate excitement for water polo by his own enthusiasm, just think of what we can generate for God with our excitement? Enthusiasm is contagious. The Holy Spirit spreads like a wildfire, if we let Him. In these post-Christmas days, may our Faith allow us to passionately proclaim God’s Good News to others. We’ve got something here a lot better than water polo. It’s all about how we live it.

May God bless us with enthusiasm as we head into Ordinary Time, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti… Pray for us !!!