Moses and St. John the Baptist

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

St. John the Baptist was a cousin to Jesus.  He was born to Elizabeth and Zechariah six months before Jesus.  When Mary told her cousin, Elizabeth, that she was going to have a child, it is said the John, the child of Elizabeth, leapt for joy.  John’s parents were given strict instructions by Gabriel, the angel, on how to raise John.  He was to be raised as a member of a priestly family, with limits on his eating and behavior.  We don’t know much about his childhood (like Jesus). He appears in the gospels as coming from the desert wearing camel-hair garments and eating locusts and wild honey.  John preached the new idea of baptism--immersion in water for the redemption of sin. This was a very different idea than what to Jewish priests were preaching.  The Jewish priests were clinging to centuries old rituals.  John introduced the idea that being saved was for everyone.  This meant he baptized the tax collectors, poor people and even women.  John was preparing the way for Jesus.  St. John was the man who baptized Jesus in the river Jordan, when God announced how pleased he was with his son, Jesus.  St. John the Baptist became a martyr when he died at the hands of the Romans.

MOSES

Moses was the man who with God’s help freed the Israeli slaves from the Pharaoh in Egypt. He was saved by the Pharaoh's daughter at the edge of the Nile and raised in the palace. He had to leave the country as a young man after he killed an Egyptian who was hurting a Hebrew slave.  Moses went to the desert where he lived until God called to him from a burning bush.  God asked Moses to return to Egypt and free the Hebrew slaves.  Moses and his brother, Aaron, were able to free the slaves but it took ten plagues and the miracle of the Reed Sea parting to save everyone.  Moses and the Hebrews went on to wander the desert for 40 years.  During this time, God gave to the people, through Moses, the Ten Commandments.  He also provided food (manna and doves) and water for everyone.  The Ark of the Covenant was built to carry holy items during their desert wanderings.  Because Moses did not always listen to God he was allowed to see the Promised Land but could not step foot there.  Moses died on the banks of the river Jordan before the Hebrews could cross.