Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas
1:6–8
6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ii. c. 2) What is said above, refers to the Divinity of Christ. He came to us in the form of man, but man in such sense, as that the Godhead was concealed within Him. And therefore there was sent before a great man, to declare by his witness that He was more than man. And who was this? He was a man.
THEOPHYLACT. Not an Angel, as many have held. The Evangelist here refutes such a notion.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ii) And how could he declare the truth concerning God, unless he were sent from God.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. vi. [v.] c. 1) After this esteem nothing that he says as human; for he speaketh not his own, but his that sent him. And therefore the Prophet calls him a messenger, I send My messenger, (Mal. 3:1) for it is the excellence of a messenger, to say nothing of his own. But the expression, was sent, does not mean his entrance into life, but to his office. As Esaias was sent on his commission, not from any place out of the world, but from where he saw the Lord sitting upon His high and lofty throne; (Isai. 6:1.) in like manner John was sent from the desert to baptize; for he says, He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon Whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. (John 1:33)
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ii) What was he called? whose name was John?
ALCUIN. That is, the grace of God, or one in whom is grace, who by his testimony first made known to the world the grace of the New Testament, that is, Christ. Or John may be taken to mean, to whom it is given: because that through the grace of God, to him it was given, not only to herald, but also to baptize the King of kings.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ii. c. 6) Wherefore came he? The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light.
ORIGEN. (t. ii. c. 28) Some try to undo the testimonies of the Prophets to Christ, by saying that the Son of God had no need of such witnesses; the wholesome words which He uttered and His miraculous acts being sufficient to produce belief; just as Moses deserved belief for his speech and goodness, and wanted no previous witnesses. To this we may reply, that, where there are a number of reasons to make people believe, persons are often impressed by one kind of proof, and not by another, and God, Who for the sake of all men became man, can give them many reasons for belief in Him. And with respect to the doctrine of the Incarnation, certain it is that some have been forced by the Prophetical writings into an admiration of Christ by the fact of so many prophets having, before His advent, fixed the place of His nativity; and by other proofs of the same kind. It is to be remembered too, that, though the display of miraculous powers might stimulate the faith of those who lived in the same age with Christ, they might, in the lapse of time, fail to do so; as some of them might even get to be regarded as fabulous. Prophecy and miracles together are more convincing than simply past miracles by themselves. We must recollect too that men receive honour themselves from the witness which they bear to God. He deprives the Prophetical choir of immeasurable honour, whoever denies that it was their office to bear witness to Christ. John when he comes to bear witness to the light, follows in the train of those who went before him.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. vi. [v.] in Joh. c. 1) Not because the light wanted the testimony, but for the reason which John himself gives, viz. that all might believe on Him. For as He put on flesh to save all men from death; so He sent before Him a human preacher, that the sound of a voice like their own, might the readier draw men to Him.
BEDE. (Bed. in loc.) He saith not, that all men should believe in him; for, cursed be the man that trusteth in man; (Jer. 17:5) but, that all men through him might believe; i. e. by his testimony believe in the Light.
THEOPHYLACT. Though some however might not believe, he is not accountable for them. When a man shuts himself up in a dark room, so as to receive no light from the sun’s rays, he is the cause of the deprivation, not the sun. In like manner John was sent, that all men might believe; but if no such result followed, he is not the cause of the failure.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. vi. in Joh. c. 1) Forasmuch however as with us, the one who witnesses, is commonly a more important, a more trustworthy person, than the one to whom he bears witness, to do away with any such notion in the present case the Evangelist proceeds; He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. If this were not his intention, in repeating the words, to bear witness of the Light, the addition would be superfluous, and rather a verbal repetition, than the explanation of a truth.
THEOPHYLACT. But it will be said, that we do not allow John or any of the saints to be or ever to have been light. The difference is this: If we call any of the saints light, we put light without the article. So if asked whether John is light, without the article, thou mayest allow without hesitation that he is: if with the article, thou allow it not. For he is not very, original, light, but is only called so, on account of his partaking of the light, which cometh from the true Light.
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1:19–23
19. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20. And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
ORIGEN. (in Joan. tom. ii. c. 29) This is the second testimony of John the Baptist to Christ, the first began with, This is He of Whom I spake; and ended with, He hath declared Him.
THEOPHYLACT. (in loc.) Or, after the introduction above of John’s testimony to Christ, is preferred before me, the Evangelist now adds when the above testimony was given, And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem.
ORIGEN. (t. vi. c. 4) The Jews of Jerusalem, as being of kin to the Baptist, who was of the priestly stock, send Priests and Levites to ask him who he is; (c. 6). that is, men considered to hold a superior rank to the rest of their order, by God’s election, and coming from that favoured above all cities, Jerusalem. Such is the reverential way in which they interrogate John. We read of no such proceeding towards Christ: but what the Jews did to John, John in turn does to Christ, when he asks Him, through His disciples, Art thou He that should come, (Luke 7:20) or look we for another?
CHRYSOSTOM. (in Joan. Hom. xvi. [xv.]) Such confidence had they in John, that they were ready to believe him on his own words: witness how it is said, To ask him, Who art thou?
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. 4. c. 3) They would not have sent, unless they had been impressed by his lofty exercise of authority, in daring to baptize.
ORIGEN. (in Joh. tom. vi. c. 6) John, as it appears, saw from the question, that the Priests and Levites had doubts whether it might not be the Christ, who was baptizing; which doubts however they were afraid to profess openly, for fear of incurring the charge of credulity. He wisely determines therefore first to correct their mistake, and then to proclaim the truth. Accordingly, he first of all shews that he is not the Christ: And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. We may add here, that at this time the people had already begun to be impressed with the idea that Christ’s advent was at hand, in consequence of the interpretations which the lawyers had collected out of the sacred writings to that effect. Thus Theudas had been enabled to collect together a considerable body, on the strength of his pretending to be the Christ; and after him Judas, in the days of the, taxation, had done the same. (Acts 5) Such being the strong expectation of Christ’s advent then prevalent, the Jews send to John, intending by the question, Who art thou? to extract from him whether he were the Christ.
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. in Evang. c. 1) He denied directly being what he was not, but he did not deny what he was: thus, by his speaking truth, becoming a true member of Him Whose name he had not dishonestly usurped.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xvi. [xv.] 1, 2) Or take this explanation: The Jews were influenced by a kind of human sympathy for John, whom they were reluctant to see made subordinate to Christ, on account of the many marks of greatness about him; his illustrious descent in the first place, he being the son of a chief priest; in the next, his hard training, and his contempt of the world. Whereas in Christ the contrary were apparent; a humble birth, for which they, reproach Him; Is not this the carpenter’s son? (Mat. 13:55) an ordinary way of living; a dress such as every one else wore. As John then was constantly sending to Christ, they send to him, with the view of having him for their master, and thinking to induce him, by blandishments, to confess himself Christ. They do not therefore send inferior persons to him, ministers and Herodians, as they did to Christ, but Priests and Levites; and not of these an indiscriminate party, but those of Jerusalem, i. e. the more honourable ones; but they send them with this question, to ask, Who art thou? not from a wish to be informed, but in order to induce him to do what I have said. John replies then to their intention, not to their interrogation: And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And observe the wisdom of the Evangelist: he repeats the same thing three times, to shew John’s virtue, and the malice and madness of the Jews. For it is the character of a devoted servant, not only to forbear taking to himself his lord’s glory, but even, when numbers offer it to him, to reject it. The multitude indeed believed from ignorance that John was the Christ, but in these it was malice; and in this spirit they put the question to him, thinking, by their blandishments to bring him over to their wishes. For unless this had been their design, when he replied, I am not the Christ, they would have said, We did not suspect this; we did not come to ask this. When caught, however, and discovered in their purpose, they proceed to another question: And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias?
AUGUSTINE. (in Joan. Tr. iv. c. 4) For they knew that Elias was to preach Christ; the name of Christ not being unknown to any among the Jews; but they did not think that He our Lord was the Christ: and yet did not altogether imagine that there was no Christ about to come. In this way, while looking forward to the future, they mistook at the present.
And he said, I am not.
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. c. 1) These words gave rise to a very different question. In another place, our Lord, when asked by His disciples concerning the coming of Elias, replied, If ye will receive it, this is Elias. (Mat. 11:14) But John says, I am not Elias. How is he then a preacher of the truth, if he agrees not with what that very Truth declares?
ORIGEN. (in Joan. tom. vi. c. 7) Some one will say that John was ignorant that he was Elias; as those say, who maintain, from this passage the doctrine of a second incorporation, as though the soul took up a new body, after leaving its old one. For the Jews, it is said, asking John by the Levites and priests, whether he is Elias, suppose the doctrine of a second body to be already certain; as though it rested upon tradition, and were part of their secret system. To which question, however, John replies, I am not Elias: not being acquainted with his own prior existence. But how is it reasonable to imagine, if John were a prophet enlightened by the Spirit, and had revealed so much concerning the Father, and the Only-Begotten, that he could be so in the dark as to himself, as not to know that his own soul had once belonged to Elias?
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. in Evang. c. 1) But if we examine the truth accurately, that which sounds inconsistent, will be found not really so. The Angel told Zacharias concerning John, He shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias. (Luke 1:17) As Elias then will preach the second advent of our Lord, so John preached His first; as the former will come as the precursor of the Judge, so the latter was made the precursor of the Redeemer. John was Elias in spirit, not in person: and what our Lord affirms of the spirit, John denies of the Person: there being a kind of propriety in this; viz. that our Lord to His disciples should speak spiritually of John, and that John, in answering the carnal multitude, should speak of his body, not of his spirit.
ORIGEN. (in Joan. tom. vi. c. 7) He answers then the Levites and Priests, I am not, conjecturing what their question meant: for the purport of their examination was to discover, not whether the spirit in both was the same, but whether John was that very Elias, who was taken up, now appearing again, as the Jews expected, without another birthI. But he whom we mentioned above as holding this doctrine of a reincorporation, will say that it is not consistent that the Priests and Levites should be ignorant of the birth of the son of so dignified a priest as Zacharias, who was born too in his father’s old age, and contrary to all human probabilities: especially when Luke declares, that fear came on all that dwelt round about them. (Luke 1:65) But perhaps, since Elias was expected to appear before the coming of Christ near the end, they may seem to put the question figuratively, Art thou he who announcest the coming of Christ at the end of the world? to which he answers, I am not. But there is in fact nothing strange in supposing that John’s birth might not have been known to all. For as in the case of our Saviour many knew Him to be born of Mary, and yet some wrongly imagined that He was John the Baptist, or Elias, or one of the Prophets; so in the case of John, some were not unacquainted with the fact of his being son of Zacharias, and yet some may have been in doubt whether he were not the Elias who was expected. Again, inasmuch as many prophets had arisen in Israel, but one was especially looked forward to, of whom Moses had prophesied, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him shall ye hearken: (Deut. 18, 15) they ask him in the third place, not simply whether he is a prophet, but with the article prefixed, Art thou that Prophet? For every one of the prophets in succession had signified to the people of Israel that he was not the one whom Moses had prophesied of; who, like Moses, was to stand in the midst between God and man, and deliver a testament, sent from God to His disciples. They did not however apply this name to Christ, but thought that He was to be a different person; whereas John knew that Christ was that Prophet, and therefore to this question, he answered, No.
AUGUSTINE. (in Joan. Tr. iv. c. 8) Or because John was more than a prophet: for that the prophets announced Him afar off, but John pointed Him out actually present.
Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xvi. [xv.] 2) You see them here pressing him still more strongly with their questions, while he on the other hand quietly puts down their suspicions, where they are untrue, and establishes the truth in their place: saying, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. iv. c. 7) So spoke Esaias: the prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist.
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. c. 2) Ye know that the only-begotten Son is called the Word of the Father. Now we know, in the case of our own utterance, the voice first sounds, and then the word is heard. Thus John declares himself to be the voice, i. e. because he precedes the Word, and, through his ministry, the Word of the Father is heard by man.
ORIGEN. (in Joan. tom. vi. c. 12) Heracleon, in his discussion on John and the Prophets, infers that because the Saviour was the Word, and John the voice, therefore the whole of the prophetic order was only sound. To which we reply, that, if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for the battle? If the voice of prophecy is nothing but sound, why does the Saviour send us to it, saying, Search the Scriptures? (John 5:39) But John calls himself the voice, not that crieth, but of one that crieth in the wilderness; viz. of Him Who stood and cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. (John 7:37) He cries, in order that those at a distance may hear him, and understand from the loudness of the sound, the vastness of the thing spoken of.
THEOPHYLACT. (in loc.) Or because he declared the truth plainly, while all who were under the law spoke obscurely.
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. in Ev. c. 2) John crieth in the wilderness, because it is to forsaken and destitute Judæa that he bears the consolatory tidings of a Redeemer.
ORIGEN. (tom. vi. c. 10. 11) There is need of the voice crying in the wilderness, that the soul, forsaken by God, may be recalled to making straight the way of the Lord, following no more the crooked paths of the serpent. This has reference both to the contemplative life, as enlightened by truth, without mixture of falsehood, and to the practical, as following up the correct perception by the suitable action. Wherefore he adds, Make straight the way of the Lord, as saith the prophet, Esaias.
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. in Evang. c. 2) The way of the Lord is made straight to the heart, when the word of truth is heard with humility; the way of the Lord is made straight to the heart, when the life is formed upon the precept.
1:24–28
24. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou he not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27. He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
ORIGEN. (in Joan. tom. vi. c. 13) The questions of the priests and Levites being answered, another mission comes from the Pharisees: And they that were sent were of the Pharisees. So far as it is allowable to form a conjecture from the discourse itself here, I should say that it was the third occasion of John’s giving his witness. Observe the mildness of the former question, so befitting the priestly and levitical character, Who art thou? There is nothing arrogant or disrespectful, but only what becomes true ministers of God. The Pharisees however, being a sectarian body, as their name implies, address the Baptist in an importunate and contumelious way. And they said, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, neither Elias, neither that Prophet? not caring about information, but only wishing to prevent him baptizing. Yet the very next thing they did, was to come to John’s baptism. The solution of this is, that they came not in faith, but hypocritically, because they feared the people.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xvi. [al. xv.] 2) Or, those very same priests and Levites were of the Pharisees, and, because they could not undermine him by blandishments, began accusing, after they had compelled him to say what he was not. And they asked him, saying, Why baptizest thou then, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elias, neither that Prophet? As if it were an act of audacity in him to baptize, when he was neither the Christ, nor His precursor, nor His proclaimer, i. e. that Prophet.
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. in Evang c. 3) A saint, even when perversely questioned, is never diverted from the pursuit of goodness. Thus John to the words of envy opposes the words of life: John answered them, saying, I indeed baptize with water.
ORIGEN. (in Joan. tom. vi. c. 15) For how would the question, Why then baptizest thou, be replied to in any other way, than by setting forth the carnal nature of his own baptism?
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. in Evang. c. 3) John baptizeth not with the Spirit, but with water; not being able to remit sins, he washes the bodies of the baptized with water, but not their souls with pardon. Why then doth he baptize, when he doth not remit sins by baptism? To maintain his character of forerunner. As his birth preceded our Lord’s, so doth his baptism precede our Lord’s baptism. And he who was the forerunner of Christ in His preaching, is forerunner also in His baptism, which was the imitation of that Sacrament. And withal he announces the mystery of our redemption, saying that He, the Redeemer, is standing in the midst of men, and they know it not: There standeth one among you, whom ye know not: for our Lord, when He appeared in the flesh, was visible in body, but in majesty invisible.
CHRYSOSTOM. (xvi. 3) One among you. It was fitting that Christ should mix with the people, and be one of the many, shewing every where His humility. Whom ye know not; i. e. not, in the most absolute and certain sense; not, who He is, and whence Ho is.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. iv. c. 9) In His low estate He was not seen; and therefore the candle was lighted.
THEOPHYLACT. (in loc.) Or it was, that our Lord was in the midst of the Pharisees; and they not knowing Him. For they thought that they knew the Scriptures, and therefore, inasmuch as our Lord was pointed out there, He was in the midst of them, i. e. in their hearts. But they knew Him not, inasmuch as they understood not the Scriptures. Or take another interpretation. He was in the midst of them, as mediator between God and man, wishing to bring them, the Pharisees, to God. But they knew Him not.
ORIGEN. (in Joan. tom. vi. c. 15) Or thus; Having said, I indeed baptize with water, in answer to the question, Why baptizest thou then?—to the next, If thou be not Christ? he replies by declaring the preexistent substance of Christ; that it was of such virtue, that though His Godhead was invisible, He was present to every one, and pervaded the whole world; as is conveyed in the words; There standeth one among you. For He it is, Who hath diffused Himself through the whole system of nature, insomuch that every thing which is created, is created by Him; All things were made by Him. Whence it is evident that even those who enquired of John, Why baptizest thou then? had Him among them. Or, the words, There standeth one among you, are to be understood of mankind generally. For, from our character as rational beings, it follows that the words exists in the centre of us, because the heart, which is the spring of motion within us, is situated in the centre of the body. Those then who carry the word within them, but are ignorant of its nature, and the source and beginning and the way in which it resides in them; these, hearing the word within them, know it not. But John recognised Him, and reproached the Pharisees, saying, Whom ye know not. For, though expecting Christ’s coming, the Pharisees had formed no lofty conception of Him, but supposed that He would only be a holy man: wherefore he briefly refutes their ignorance, and the false ideas that they had of His excellence. He saith, standeth; for as the Father standeth, i. e. exists without variation or change, so standeth the Word ever in the work of salvation, though It assume flesh, though It be in the midst of men, though It stand invisible. Lest any one however should think that the invisible One Who cometh to all men, and to the universal world, is different from Him Who was made man, and appeared on the earth, he adds, He that cometh after me; i. e. Who will appear after me. The after however here has not the same meaning that it has, when Christ calls us after Him; for there we are told to follow after Him, that by treading in His steps, we may attain to the Father; but here the word is used to intimate what should follow upon John’s teaching; for he came that all may believe, having by his ministry been fitted gradually by lesser things, for the reception of the perfect Word. Therefore he saith, He it is Who cometh after me.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xvi. [al. xv.] 3) As if he said, Do not think that every thing is contained in my baptism; for if my baptism were perfect, another would not come after me with another baptism. This baptism of mine is but an introduction to the other, and will soon pass away, like a shadow, or an image. There is One coming after me to establish the truth: and therefore this is not a perfect baptism; for, if it were, there would be no room for a second: and therefore he adds, Who is made before me: i. e. is more honourable, more lofty.
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. in Ev. c. 3) Made before me, i. e. preferred before me. He comes after me, that is, He is born after me; He is made before me, that is, He is preferred to me.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xvi. [al. xv.] 3) But lest thou shouldest think this to be the result of comparison, he immediately shews it to be a superiority beyond all comparison; Whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose: as if He said, He is so much before me, that I am unworthy to be numbered among the lowest of His attendants: the unloosing of the sandal being the very lowest kind of service.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. iv) To have pronounced himself worthy even of unloosing His shoe’s latchet, he would have been thinking too much of himself.
GREGORY. (Hom. vii. in Ev. c. 3) Or thus: It was a law of the old dispensation, that, if a man refused to take the woman, who of right came to him, to wife, he who by right of relationship came next to be the husband, should unloose his shoe. Now in what character did Christ appear in the world, but as Spouse of the Holy Church? (John 3:29.) John then very properly pronounced himself unworthy to unloose this shoe’s latchet: as if he said, I cannot uncover the feet of the Redeemer, for I claim not the title of spouse, which I have no right to. Or the passage may be explained in another way. We know that shoes are made out of dead animals. Our Lord then, when He came in the flesh, put on, as it were, shoes; because in His Divinity He took the flesh of our corruption, wherein we had of ourselves perished. And the latchet of the shoe, is the seal upon the mystery. John is not able to unloose the shoe’s latchet; i. e. even he cannot penetrate into the mystery of the Incarnation. So he seems to say: What wonder that He is preferred before me, Whom, being born after me, I contemplate, yet the mystery of Whose birth I comprehend not.
ORIGEN. (tom. vi. in Joan.) The place has been understood not amiss thus by a certain person1; I am not of such importance, as that for my sake He should descend from this high abode, and take flesh upon Him, as it were a shoe.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xvii. [al. xvi.] 1. in Joan) John having preached the thing concerning Christ publicly and with becoming liberty, the Evangelist mentions the place of His preaching: These things were done in Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. For it was in no house or corner that John preached Christ, but beyond Jordan, in the midst of a multitude, and in the presence of all whom He had baptized. Some copies read more correctly Bethabara: for Bethany was not beyond Jordan, or in the desert, but near Jerusalem.
GLOSS. Or we must suppose two Bethanies; one over Jordan, the other on this side, not far from Jerusalem, the Bethany where Lazarus was raised from the dead.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xvii) He mentions this too for another reason, viz. that as He was relating events which had only recently happened, He might, by a reference to the place, appeal to the testimony of those who were present and saw them.
ALCUIN. The meaning of Bethany is, house of obedience; by which it is intimated to us, that all must approach to baptism, through the obedience of faith.
ORIGEN. (tom. vi. c. 24) Bethabara means house of preparation; which agreeth with the baptism of Him, who was making ready a people prepared for the Lord. (c.25. et seq.). Jordan, again, means, “their descent.” Now what is this river but our Saviour, through Whom coming into this earth all must be cleansed, in that He came down not for His own sake, but for theirs. This river it is which separateth the lots given by Moses, from those given by Jesus; its streams make glad the city of God. (c. 29). As the serpent lies hid in the Egyptian river, so doth God in this; for the Father is in the Son. Wherefore whosoever go thither to wash themselves, lay aside the reproach of Egypt, (Joshua 5:9.) are made meet to receive the inheritance, are cleansed from leprosy, (2 Kings 5:14.) are made capable of a double portion of grace, and ready to receive the Holy Spirit; (2 Kings 2:9.) nor doth the spiritual dove light upon any other river. John again baptizes beyond Jordan, as the precursor of Him Who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
>Catena Aurea John 1
From: Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11The Herald of Good Tidings
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[1] The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good tidings to the afflicted;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
[2a] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God.
[10] I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
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Commentary:
61:1-11. Into the air of great joy reflected in the previous hymn, the prophet inserts this very important oracle about the new messenger (vv. 1-3). The rest of the chapter is made up of three stanzas that celebrate the wonders of the holy city. These can be seen in profound, spiritual renewal (vv. 4-7), perfect fulfillment of the promises made to the ancient patriarchs (vv. 8-9), and joy-in-worship, comparable to that of bridegroom and bride, or that of the farmer on seeing a rich harvest (vv. 10-11).
The remarkable events and features of the city point to the time of the End, the time of the Lord's definitive salvific intervention. In this context these new things are ultimate and definitive. Because in the New Testament the Church is called “God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9), erected on the foundation of the apostles (1 Cor 3:11), Christian tradition has seen the new, glorious Jerusalem as a symbol of the Church that makes its way through this world and will be made manifest at the end of time (cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 756-757).
61:1-3. This very compact oracle depicts the eschatological messenger speaking a soliloquy. It is one of the key passages in the book of Isaiah. It clearly has connections with the songs of the Servant, especially the second song (49:1-6). The pouring out of the Spirit involves anointing as in the case of the king (cf. 11:2) and in that of the Servant of the Lord (42:1). But the messenger is more than a king, more than a prophet, more than the community dwelling in the holy city in the latter days. His mission is a dual one-- to be a messenger and a comforter. As a messenger, like a king’s ambassador in times of war, he brings good tidings: he announces redemption for slaves, release for prisoners (cf. Jer 34:8, 17). His message proclaims a new order of things where there will be no need for repression and where concord and well-being will prevail. The “year of the Lord’s favor" (v. 2) is similar to the jubilee year (cf. Lev 25:8-19) or the sabbatical year (cf. Ex 21:2-11; Jer 34:14; Ezek 46:17) in the sense that it is a day chosen by the Lord, and different from any other; but here it means the point at which God shows himself to be most gracious and bestows definitive salvation (cf. 49:8). It is also called the day of vengeance (V. 2) because on that day, essentially a day of good news, the wicked, too, receive their just deserts.
As a comforter he will bind up hearts broken by illness or misfortune, and give encouragement to those who weep and revive those who mourn in Zion. When the comforter is the Lord or a messenger of his (cf. 40:1), one can expect him to re-establish his peoples to set things right, (the way they were at the beginning), to renew the broken Covenant and re-establish institutions that had been dismantled, that is, bring about a situation where everything is in plentiful supply.
People who have reached rock bottom (the poor, prisoners etc.) will be given a place of honor on that day, and a wreath, perfume and a mantle of praise (V. 3). In sacred texts of the post-exilic period, the concept of the “poor” (or “afflicted”: cf. note m) already went beyond the social category of those least well off: it had a religious connotation, meaning “the humble”, those who saw themselves as having no value before God and who simply put their faith in his divine mercy. The final definition of the “poor” will emerge in the Beatitudes (Mt 5:3-12).
In Jesus’ time, Jewish tradition, found in the targum or Aramaic translation of the Bible, considered the messenger described here to be a prophet (and for that reason it introduced this oracle with the words "Thus says the prophet”). So, when Jesus reads this passage in the synagogue of Nazareth he points out that “today the scripture has been fulfilled” (Lk 4:21) and that he is the prophet of whom Isaiah spoke. By doing so, he is saying that he is the Messiah, the Christ, the one anointed by the Holy Spirit (cf. Is 11:2), not so much as a king but as a prophet who proclaims salvation. Ever since then, Christian teaching sees Jesus as the last messenger sent by the Holy Spirit: “The prophet presents the Messiah as the one who comes in the Holy Spirit, the one who possesses the fullness of this Spirit in himself and at the same time for others, for Israel, for all the nations, for all humanity. The fullness of the Spirit of God is accompanied by many different gifts, the treasures of salvation, destined in a particular way for the poor and suffering, for all those who open their hearts to these gifts--sometimes through the painful experience of their own existence--but first of all through that interior availability which comes from faith. The aged Simeon, the ‘righteous and devout man’ upon whom ‘rested the Holy Spirit’, sensed this at the moment of Jesus’ presentation in the Temple, when he perceived in him the ‘salvation prepared in the presence of all peoples’ at the price of the great suffering--the Cross--which he would have to embrace together with his Mother. The Virgin Mary, who ‘had conceived by the Holy Spirit’, sensed this even more clearly, when she pondered in her heart the ‘mysteries’ of the Messiah, with whom she was associated” ("Dominum Et Vivificantem", 16).
From: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Various Counsels (Continuation)
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[16] Rejoice always, [17] pray constantly, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [19] Do not quench the Spirit, [20] do not despise prophesying, [21] but test everything; hold fast what is good, [22] abstain from every form of evil.
Closing Prayer and Farewell
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[23] May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] He who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
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Commentary
16. Being at peace with God and with others fills one with joy and serenity, so much so that even great suffering and sorrow, if borne with faith, cannot take away one's joy. "Being children of God, how can we be sad? Sadness is the end product of selfishness. If we truly want to live for God, we will never lack cheerfulness, even when we discover our errors and wretchedness. Cheerfulness finds its way into our life of prayer, so much so that we cannot help singing for joy. For we are in love, and singing is a thing that lovers do" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 92).
When someone allows sadness to overwhelm him, even his prayers to God are of no avail because he is failing to accept God's will. An anonymous second-century Christian writer, in a famous document, says: "Why does the prayer of the melancholy man not reach up to the altar of God? [...] Because supplication when mixed with melancholy is prevented from ascending pure to the altar. Just as wine mixed with vinegar has no longer the same flavor, so the Holy Spirit mixed with melancholy has not the same power of supplication. Cleanse yourself, therefore, of this evil melancholy, and you will live for God. So, too, will they live for God who cast away melancholy and clothe themselves entirely in joy" ("The Shepherd of Hermas", 10th Commandment, 3).
17. Our Lord impressed on his Apostles the need for prayer at all times, and underlined this by his own life of prayer (cf. Lk 18:1). "The Apostle", St Jerome says, "tells us to pray always. For holy people, even sleep is a prayer. However, we should have certain times of prayer spread out over the day so that, even if we are involved in some task, the timetable we have given ourselves will remind us that duty calls" ("Letter", 22, 37).
"A Christian life should be one of constant prayer, trying to live in the presence of God from morning to night and from night to morning. A Christian can never be a lonely person, since he lives in continual contact with God, who is both near us and in heaven [...]. in the middle of his daily work, when he has to overcome his selfishness, when he enjoys the cheerful friendship of other people, a Christian should rediscover God" ([St]J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 116).
18. This verse completes the triptych which shows the Christian how to live in line with "the will of God"--joy (v. 16), prayer (v. 17) and thanksgiving.
"There is no one", St Bernard says, "who, if he just thinks about it a little, cannot find very good reasons to express his gratitude to God" ("Sermon on the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost", 2, 1). In addition to life itself and all the natural gifts we have received, there are the fruits of the Redemption wrought by Christ, and even "the natural order of things requires that he who has received a favor should, by repaying it, turn to his benefactor in gratitude" ("Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. 106, a. 3). It follows that gratefulness should be a permanent attitude of the children of God, whether they find themselves in pleasant or disagreeable circumstances, for they know that "in everything God works for good with those who love him" (Rom 8:28). "If things go well, let us rejoice, blessing God who makes them prosper. And if they go badly? Let us rejoice, blessing God who allows us to share in the sweetness of his Cross" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 658).
19-22. No one should smother the graces and charisms the Holy Spirit grants as he wishes (cf. 1 Cor 13 and 14); and the gift of prophecy (v. 20) should be held in special regard. The "prophets" referred to in the New Testament were Christians to whom God gave special graces to encourage, console, correct or instruct others. They did not constitute a special class or group, as was the case in the Old Testament. Some of them may at times have abused their gifts and tried to impose their counsel on others, but that does not mean that those who had this gift were not to be held in high regard, for thanks to this charism they were a great asset to the Church.
"It is only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the people of God, leads them and enriches them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills it (cf. 1 Cor 12:11), he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts he makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church, as it is written, 'to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good' (1 Cor 12:7). Whether these charisms be very remarkable or more simple and widely diffused they are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation since they are fitting and useful for the needs of the Church. Extraordinary gifts are not to be rashly desired, nor is it from them that the fruits of apostolic labors are to be presumptuously expected. Those who have charge over the Church should judge the genuineness and proper use of these gifts, though their office is not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good (cf. 1 Thess 5:12 and 19-21)" (Vatican 11, "Lumen Gentium", 12).
21. This verse refers directly to charisms and the discernment of charisms; but it can be taken as advice to reflect prudently before taking any decision, so as always to do the right thing.
23. "Spirit and soul and body": three aspects which go to make up a well-integrated human person. Spirit and soul are in fact two forms of the same principle. Here soul refers to the principle of sensitive life, whereas "spirit" is the source of man's higher life; his intellectual life derives from his spirit, and this intellectual life, once enlightened by faith, is open to the action of the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 1:9).
In this verse God is being invoked to "sanctify" believers, to preserve the purity of the human person at all levels (spirit, soul and body). Given that even after Baptism man has an inclination towards sin and often does offend the Lord (even if not gravely), he needs to practice penance in order to stay unsullied. Moreover, the "sanctification" which God brings about in man affects his entire being. In the last analysis, Christian holiness is the fullness of the order established by God at the Creation and reestablished after man's sin. And so the Apostle invokes God as "the God of peace", for peace is, according to theological definition, "tranquility in order". Sanctity gives all man's faculties, physical as well as spiritual, their perfection and wholeness, thereby rounding off and perfecting the natural order, without superseding it.
Sanctification is the joint work of God and man. God's action begins at Baptism and develops thereafter (cf. 3:13); but for a person to attain lasting sanctity he needs to make a constant effort to second God's action. "Conversion is the task of a moment; sanctification is the work of a lifetime. The divine seed of charity, which God has sown in our souls, desires to grow, to express itself in deeds, to yield results which continually coincide with what God wants. Therefore, we must be ready to begin again, to find again--in new situations--the light and the stimulus of our first conversion" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 58).
24. "He who calls you": the Greek text conveys the idea of continuous action. The calling which God addresses to a person is not an isolated event occurring at a single point in his life; it is a permanent attitude of God, who is continually calling us to be holy. Therefore, vocation is not something which can be lost; but man's response can cease. Faithfulness is an attitude of God: he always keeps his promises and never ceases in his salvific purpose: "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion" (Phil 1:6); so holiness depends on divine grace (which is always available) and on man's response. Final perseverance is a grace but it will not be denied to anyone who strives to do good. "Buoyed up by this hope," St Clement of Rome comments, "let us bind our souls to him who is true to his word and righteous in his judgments. He who has forbidden us to use any deception can much less be a deceiver himself" ("Letter to the Corinthians", 1, 27).
From: John 1:6-8, 19-28
Prologue
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[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. [7] He came for testimony to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. [8] He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.
The Witness of John
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[19] And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" [20] He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." [21] And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" And he answered, "No." [22] They said to him then, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" [23] He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, `Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."
[24] Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. [25] They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" [26] John answered, "I baptize with water; but among you stands One whom you do not know, [27] even He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." [28] This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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Commentary:
6-8. After considering the divinity of the Lord, the text moves on to deal with his incarnation, and begins by speaking of John the Baptist, who makes his appearance at a precise point in history to bear direct witness before man to Jesus Christ (Jn 1:15, 19-36; 3:22ff). As St Augustine comments: "For as much as he [the Word Incarnate] was man and his Godhead was concealed, there was sent before him a great man, through whose testimony He might be found to be more than man" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 2, 5).
All of the Old Testament was a preparation for the coming of Christ. Thus, the patriarchs and prophets announced, in different ways, the salvation the Messiah would bring. But John the Baptist, the greatest of those born of woman (cf. Mt 11:11), was actually able to point out the Messiah himself; his testimony marked the culmination of all the previous prophecies.
So important is John the Baptist's mission to bear witness to Jesus Christ that the Synoptic Gospels stage their account of the public ministry with John's testimony. The discourses of St Peter and St Paul recorded in the Acts of the Apostles also refer to this testimony (Acts 1:22; 10:37; 12:24). The Fourth Gospel mentions it as many as seven times (1:6, 15, 19, 29, 35; 3:27; 5:33). We know, of course, that St John the Apostle was a disciple of the Baptist before becoming a disciple of Jesus, and that it was precisely the Baptist who showed him the way to Christ (cf. 1 :37ff).
The New Testament, then, shows us the importance of the Baptist's mission, as also his own awareness that he is merely the immediate Precursor of the Messiah, whose sandals he is unworthy to untie (cf. Mk 1:7): the Baptist stresses his role as witness to Christ and his mission as preparer of the way for the Messiah (cf. Lk 1:15-17; Mt 3: 3-12). John the Baptist's testimony is undiminished by time: he invites people in every generation to have faith in Jesus, the true Light.
19-34. This passage forms a unity, beginning and ending with reference to the Baptist's "testimony": it thereby emphasizes the mission given him by God to bear witness, by his life and preaching, to Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. The Precursor exhorts people to do penance and he practices the austerity he preaches; he points Jesus out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; and he proclaims him boldly in the face of the Jewish authorities. He is an example to us of the fortitude with which we should confess Christ: "All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of the word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which the put on in Baptism" (Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 11).
19-24. In this setting of intense expectation of the imminent coming of the Messiah, the Baptist is a personality with enormous prestige, as is shown by the fact that the Jewish authorities send qualified people (priests and Levites from Jerusalem) to ask him if he is the Messiah.
John's great humility should be noted: he is quick to tell his questioners: "I am not the Christ". He sees himself as someone insignificant compared with our Lord: "I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandal" (verse 27). He places all his prestige at the service of his mission as precursor of the Messiah and, leaving himself completely to one side, he asserts that "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
25-26. "Baptize": this originally meant to submerge in water, to bathe. For the Jews the rite of immersion meant legal purification of those who had contracted some impurity under the Law. Baptism was also used as a rite for the incorporation of Gentile proselytes into the Jewish people. In the Dead Sea Scrolls there is mention of a baptism as a rite of initiation and purification into the Jewish Qumran community, which existed in our Lord's time.
John's baptism laid marked stress on interior conversion. His words of exhortation and the person's humble recognition of his sins prepared people to receive Christ's grace: it was a very efficacious rite of penance, preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah, and it fulfilled the prophecies that spoke precisely of a cleansing by water prior to the coming of the Kingdom of God in the messianic times (cf. Zechariah 13:1; Ezekiel 36:25; 37-23; Jeremiah 4:14). John's baptism, however, had no power to cleanse the soul of sins, as Christian Baptism does (cf. Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:4).
"One whom you do not know": Jesus had not yet publicly revealed Himself as Messiah and Son of God; although some people did know as a man, St. John the Baptist could assert that really they did not know Him.
27. The Baptist declares Christ's importance by comparing himself to a slave undoing the laces of his master's sandals. If we want to approach Christ, whom St. John heralds, we need to imitate the Baptist. As St. Augustine says: "He who imitates the humility of the Precursor will understand these words. [...] John's greatest merit, my brethren, is this act of humility" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 4, 7).
28. This is a reference to the town of Bethany which was situated of the eastern bank of the Jordan, across from Jericho--different from the Bethany where Lazarus and his family lived, near Jerusalem (cf. John 11:18).
