It never takes long in the season of Advent for our patron John the Baptist to make an entrance. He is the precursor, the one who comes to prepare the way for the one who is to follow. Unlike those Jesus chooses to be his disciples, John embodies the characteristics of a true disciple. It is clear from Mark’s Gospel that his effort to herald the coming of God’s kingdom and the need for the people to respond with a complete change of life was very successful. Mark tells us that people from the whole countryside and those from the city of Jerusalem were going out to hear John and being baptized by him as they acknowledged their sins. The disciple’s call is to attract people to embrace conversion. John is an undeniable success, but remains humble in his ministry. Every Christian is to embody the selfless outlook of John the Baptist, one who is willing to decrease so that the Lord himself may increase.