Saint Augustine makes the interesting assertion that littleness is proper to great souls, whereas pride, is the misleading greatness of the weak. He goes on to add that the truly humble person has no wish to excel in things that are going to pass away but fixes his or her thoughts on things eternal. In this Augustine helps us understand what Jesus possibly meant by saying that among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Although John the Baptist did not intentionally wish to excel in things that are going to pass away, nevertheless he did attain a great popularity and influence over the crowds coming to him for baptism. And so, by worldly standards, he did achieve greatness and grounds for pride and vainglory.
However, today’s gospel describes a very different John the Baptist. No longer drawing admiring crowds, but languishing in prison for his fidelity to the Truth. And in this humbled state he sends his few remaining disciples to inquire of Jesus if he is the one to come or, should they expect another. And it is in that prison, from which he would only escape by dying, that he becomes one of the least in the kingdom of heaven and attains a greatness that vastly exceeds any earlier greatness he might have possessed as the Lord’s prophet. In this, John the Baptist illustrates the unavoidable, and usually painful, path all of us must take if we would attain to that greatness that marks us as God’s beloved adopted children—a greatness that is hidden from the eyes of the worldly who continue to seek illusory glory in what so quickly passes away.
This is a reminder that the beguiling but misguided quest for worldly glory and recognition, that we all struggle with—to a greater of lesser degree—is ultimately, and rather simply, driven by our God-given need to be loved, accepted, cherished, and honored for the persons we truly are. This irrepressible need renders us vulnerable and exposed in a world where being loved, accepted, and honored is either withheld or only conditionally offered. And it is this conditional quality of worldly honor and acceptance, that leaves us uneasy and restlessly defending our fragile dignity and worth. It is thus only when we finally disregard worldly glory and praise, that our humbled hearts can open to that true glory inseparable from our membership in the kingdom of heaven. This is that “littleness” of which Saint Augustine speaks and that is proper to great souls who have overcome pride and no longer seek praise from anyone but God who casts down the mighty from their thrones but raises the lowly and shares with them his glory.