Jumpstarting the homily with his experience as a reluctant substitute to the stage performer at a fundraising magic show in Butuan City, Philippines, for the benefit of a Church in Buenavista in 1992 while still a very young seminarian, this preacher narrates how he went through something similar to the experience of John the Baptist when asked by the welcome party at the port of his arrival if he was the magician they were waiting for. Like John the Baptist did, he told them the truth that he was just a substitute, and he got peace of mind and freedom to perform at the show within his capacities. Going deeper into the theme of the day this preacher focuses on the subject of John's preaching: Jesus Christ, the God who became man. The resultant hypostatic union in Jesus made us heirs once more of the kingdom. The union of both human and divine natures in Jesus "divinized" human nature, albeit in a limited sense. Nonetheless we now have chances in the fight against evil for as long as we cooperate with God's grace. Being human is no longer an excuse to wallow in sin. The often quoted Tagalog phrase SAPAGKA'T KAMI AY TAO LAMANG (We are only human) assumes a new meaning in light of the foregoing. We get it right if we shift the accent of the word 'LAMANG' to its last syllable to mean "better off". Now the phrase would mean "Because we are human, we are better off".