John 1:29-34
The Word for Sunday:
It seems we may often read the Gospels in a way that puts us outside the conversation and events so we act far more as spectators rather than participants. We stand at a distance and watch the events unfold. We sit quietly and listen to the words of Jesus or other figures in the Gospels, at Mass for example. It’s as if we walk upon the event, stand in the crowd, observe what happens, then go on our way. While we may hear a fine homily that connects the lesson of the scriptures to our lives, it strikes me I sometimes wonder if we really get it.
However, the Gospel this weekend provides more than passive participation. Imagine that John the Baptist stands before you on stage in a darkened theater. The light shines on John for a moment yet in the back you see a shadowy figure who stands quietly. Suddenly, the Baptist turns to the audience in front of and below him. As he steps forward he begins to speak directly to the audience of which you are a part so that he might engage our full attention. He raises his right arm and points to that figure behind him as the light then shifts and you see it is Jesus.
Then facing the audience John declares: “You see him? This is your Lord and Savior; the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, a man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me . . . the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit . . . he is the Son of God. Now, follow him.”
We may be struck by John’s direct approach but he certainly gets our attention. We must respond and can’t ignore the words of this charismatic figure who now fades into the background and who points to Christ the “man who ranks ahead of me.” The rank is not one of economic or earthly power that might place Jesus among the upper crust; the mighty, powerful and the movers and shakers of society.
Instead our Lord comes in peace. He comes to forgive and extend mercy; to include rather than to exclude and to heal the brokenhearted. To so identify with us that he embraces our human experience and eventually even dies for us, only to be raised three days later – for us. The fiery preaching of John the Baptist was done to prepare us and to wake us up that we might be ready to see this figure not in shadows and darkness but in clear and shining light with no doubt as to his mission and identity.
So, this Sunday is a kind of transition from the clarion call of Advent to “make ready the way for the Lord” to see God’s prophetic promises fulfilled in the birth of Jesus among the lowly and peaceful figures of the Christmas season to now see the adult Jesus ready for mission and anointed with the Spirit, the Son of God come among us.
The first reading from Isaiah speaks of a figure who is called to be “a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” In our Christian perspective we see Jesus as that light and his mission which reaches out to Jew and Gentile alike; a mission that is inclusive and invites. Ultimately, it is a call from God through his Son which demands a response. We cannot ignore the great figures who heard the call of God, embraced it in faith, and walked with confidence in his guidance: Isaiah, Mary, Joseph, and John the Baptist rank as shining lights from our Advent and Christmas time.
Now, as John points to Jesus he speaks to us collectively. In other worlds, the mission of Christ has become our mission as well as his followers. We should be reminded this week that we follow Christ, the Lamb of God as John calls him, as a people of faith; as a diverse collection of humanity whose call to see Christ as that light sent from God might have come to us in all sorts of ways such as family, culture, personally, the witness of others. That we who believe in Christ are called to be a continual light to the nations and to carry on the mission Jesus began and continues in and through his Church.
It seems primarily then that God intends us to carry out his mission through human leaders and human events. There are many other moral leaders and founders of various world religions such as Confucius, Buddha, Moses, Mohammed, of the variety of Christian leaders who began other Protestant traditions or even the notorious King Henry VIII in his less than stellar efforts to shift authority from the Pope to himself.
While most of these leaders were seen more as teachers and prophets, none claimed to be the light of the world, the way, the truth and the life, to work wonders to forgive sin or to predict their own resurrection from the dead. Jesus alone made such claims and his followers have continued to insist they are true. History has confirmed the belief of countless Christians that Jesus Christ is indeed who he claimed to be.
That leaves us with the mission entrusted to us from our baptism. We may call it today evangelization. Our second reading from the Christians in Corinth has Paul remind them of their mission and in that way of ours as well: “to you, who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours . . .”
The mission we carry calls us first to be a holy people. To be a people who not only show up but more to be a people who embrace conversion in Christ Jesus. It is that act of God’s grace that will make us holy as in right relationship with God who strive to live lives of virtue, not sinfulness. Then our light can truly shine because it is the light of Christ not ourselves that others can see. In other words, let’s be a community which attracts rather than excludes or repels.
Our celebration of the Holy Eucharist invites us to see who we are as a collective community, all called by God to holiness and fed with the Lamb of God himself.
So, as John stands center stage and looks down to you with arm extended to the one he calls the “Lamb of God” who will “baptize with the Holy Spirit” and who therefore is the “Son of God” do I get it? Can I let go and embrace the mission Christ has offered to us? Can I strive to be holy and walk in the way of his light?
Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love,
and in your kindness
make those you have nourished
by this one heavenly Bread
one in mind and heart.
Regnum Christi
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Father Walter Schu, LC
John 1:29-34
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ´After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.´ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ´He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.´ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Introductory Prayer: Jesus, thank you for this opportunity to be with you, my Lord and my God. You always seek me first. Even my desire to encounter you is a fruit of your love for me, of the action of your grace in my heart. I trust that this day will be filled with the graces I need to respond generously to your call to holiness and to be your apostle.
Petition: Lord, help me to be a witness to you with the same courage, humility, and openness to the Holy Spirit as John the Baptist.
1. John “Saw Jesus Coming Toward Him.” – Jesus is always coming toward us, too. Why? Because he loves us. He never imposes himself. He doesn’t burst through the door and force us to accept him or even acknowledge him. But he does remain close, hoping we will catch a glimpse of his love and, in that instant, recognize that he is everything our hearts long for. What will happen if we open the door of our life, of our heart, to Christ? He will call us to abandon the tight confines of our egotism, greed, lust, envy, and selfishness. He will open undreamed-of horizons and give a rich, new dimension to our poor, fleeting days on this earth. He will bestow on us a transcendent mission: to testify to him not only with our words, but with everything that we are.
2. John Testifies to “the Lamb of God.” – As John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him, he proclaims: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John’s title for Jesus is rich in meaning. Fifteen hundred years before Christ, during the exile in Egypt, the blood of the paschal lamb spread on the Israelites’ doorposts saved their families from the angel of death, who slaughtered the first-born of the Egyptians. As a result, Moses was able to lead the chosen people to the Promised Land. Christ is the true Lamb of God who offers himself in sacrifice to take away our sins and to open to us the Promised Land of heaven. John’s testimony requires humility: His own disciples leave him to follow Jesus. Do I strive for this same humility? Do I put my testimony to Jesus above my own self-interest?
3. John Recognizes Jesus Through the Holy Spirit: John’s testimony was so convincing that many of his own disciples became followers of Jesus. Yet John himself claimed that at first he did not know Jesus. What did he mean by this enigmatic phrase? As Jesus’ relative, John certainly knew who he was; however, the precise moment in which Jesus was to begin his Messianic mission remained unknown to John. It was only through the action of the Holy Spirit that John fully recognized Jesus as the Chosen One of God, who was now to be revealed to God’s chosen people. The Holy Spirit seeks to work with the same power in our own lives. What attachments to worldly interests still distract me from the Holy Spirit’s action? What fears still hold me back from letting him do with me whatever he pleases? Do I fully trust in him who is love itself?
Conversation with Christ: Thank you for always coming toward me, Lord. Thank you for your love for me. At times I don’t know what you see in me, Lord, but even in my weakness and sinfulness I want to return love with love. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, help my love for you to be bold and ardent.
Resolution: I will ask the Holy Spirit to help me openly bear witness to Christ during the day.