John the Baptist: Patron Saint of Christian Culture

A quick Google search shows that St. John the Baptist is the patron saint of many different places and causes. The list is quite impressive and shows the influence he has had on Christianity. He is invoked in many different circumstances, and much of his life has drawn people to him. In addition to all of this, there is one additional patronage that I would like to attribute to John the Baptist: patron saint of Christian culture. To understand this, we must first look at the mission of John the Baptist.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.

A voice of one crying out in the desert:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths.’”

John [the] Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a

baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Mark 1:2-4

John the Baptist was sent before Jesus to prepare his way, to make straight his paths. He was sent ahead of Jesus so that people might more easily come to believe in him and follow him. For this reason, God created him. Could not the same thing be said of culture, specifically Christian culture?

From our homes to the broader society at large, Christian culture, in everything from its arts and music and devotions and community life and weekly and yearly rhythms, is supposed to help us more easily come to believe in Jesus and follow him. Christian culture is supposed to “prepare the way of the Lord.” Just like encountering John the Baptist and hearing him preach and getting baptized by him prepared his followers to more easily recognize and follow Jesus as the long-awaited Jewish messiah, encountering a truly Christian culture (whether in a home or a society at large) is supposed to prepare someone to more easily and faithfully become a Christian.

Culture always creates disciples. Culture always influences those in it to have certain beliefs more naturally than others. It always influences those in it to more easily adopt a certain lifestyle rather than another. This is just what culture does, and it is for this reason that Christians have always been actively engaged in the cultures in which they live.

At first glance, St. John the Baptist may seem an odd choice as a patron of culture. After all, he lived in the wilderness, away from the regular daily happenings of those around him, and he wore camel’s hair and fed on locusts and wild honey. He most certainly wasn’t cultured or trendy in the way we, as modern Americans, think of someone in that category. However, here we can return to the great both/and principle we often see reflected throughout Catholicism.

There are two extremes of engagement with the world, both of which have their place. On one end, there is the extreme removal of oneself from the world to live in a strong community designed to focus more easily on God alone. We see this in the monastic tradition and even among many laity today in different parts of the world. History shows that those who radically withdraw from the world often gather a following and exert a great influence on the surrounding area where they live. On the other hand, there is a more radical engagement of the world by being immersed in it. Living in regular neighborhoods, working regular secular jobs, going to a regular church, and keeping up to date with all that is happening in the culture, to best engage those in the world. Each in its own way prepares the way of the Lord in our world today. It is this preparation that leads us to St. John the Baptist.

John the Baptist is a patron saint of Christian culture because his mission in life is the same as that of Christian culture. Culture is not just a neutral part of the world that happens to be there for us to deal with. The actions we take and the way we live create and influence a culture. Let us as Christians be actively engaged in the creation of that culture. Just like John the Baptist, Christian culture makes straight the paths in our lives for Jesus Christ to transform us.