“The only way such freedom (of getting out of the way for Jesus to take the centre) can happen is if John the Baptist learned to be very empty of himself already as a young man, before he even built his tower of success. His ego was out of the way so much so that he could let go of his own ego, his own message, and even his own life. This is surely the real meaning of his head on a platter! Some have cleverly said that the ego is an acronym for ‘edging God out’. There’s got be such emptiness, or we cannot point beyond ourselves to Jesus, as John did. Such emptiness doesn’t just fall into our laps; such humility does not just happen. It is surely the end product of a thousand letting goes and a thousand acts of devotion, which for John the Baptist gradually edged God in.”
Richard Rohr