This was a man of God who knew his place. There is little loyalty to the past nor sacrifice for the sake of the future. We are fast losing the sense of historical continuity, the sense of belonging to a succession of generations originating in the past and stretching into the future. There is little loyalty in the workplace. Few athletes remain with the teams that signed them.
Free agency reigns in professional sports.
The consumer makes choices based on present needs with little thought for the past or the future. John the Baptist was a man of history, well connected. Well acquainted with the prophecies of the past, he knew his place in the present as he pointed and prepared for the One who would be the future. Never take his sacrifices for granted. Our text affirms that his message, however stern, struck a responsive chord.