“I
myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that
he might be revealed to Israel.” From the Gospel for today, the Gospel of John,
chapter 1, verse 31.
In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. Amen.
Today’s Gospel reading can be separated into two readings, recounting events over two days. The first part introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God and describes him as “the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” In the second part, John again introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God. Two of his disciples join Jesus.
John, in announcing that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, is announcing that in eternity, so to speak, the victory over sin has already been won. Jesus, in coming into the world, is bringing that victory with him, to begin its actualization in earthly time. John’s announcement, then, is striking in its optimism, if I can use that word, its unambiguous proclamation that victory is already in sight. This before Jesus has begun his earthly ministry. John is proclaiming the triumphant conclusion of the story before it has begun, before we know what the story actually is.
John the Baptist is undoing our usual way of thinking about time and the world. He announces the conclusion of a story before its beginning. The first section of today’s reading is an undoing of our usual way of thinking. And this undoing is a clue to the nature of our spiritual situation. The Baptist says, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” After is before and behind is ahead. Say again? This is not how we do things here on earth. On earth, hour succeeds hour and day follows day, and there’s no stopping or reversing this endless flow. And in our social arrangements, we definitely know who ranks ahead of whom, and whoever comes after shouldn’t go to the head of the line. But, along comes the Baptist and says, not so, it’s the other way around.
"I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” Well, did the Baptist know him or not? He must have known something, enough to know that he has to reveal the Lamb of God to Israel. And what has baptizing got to do with this? The Baptist is aware of his time, his personal time, as one of preparation. In his prophetic awareness, he perceives the true nature of Jesus, a nature which he knows is different from his own. That is what the Baptist means when he says, “I myself did not know him.” The Baptist realizes that his ministry is one of preparation only, of introduction, to the ministry of Jesus. John’s prophetic ministry is one of calling people to repentance, and sealing that repentance with baptism in water. Repentance, we remember, means changing our minds, changing our direction away from self-centered preoccupation, and toward God, toward living our lives in confidence that we will find our fulfilment in Him. This is why the Baptist carefully distinguishes his baptism in water from Jesus’s baptism with the Holy Spirit. John’s baptism is the beginning in time, a precondition, as it were, of the life in the Spirit which Jesus brings in his baptism. John’s baptism clears away the obstacles which get in the way of a clear perception of spiritual reality. And he points out that spiritual reality in the person of Jesus, when he says, “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 testified that this is the Son of God.” John is saying that Jesus is not a prophet like himself, but is someone entirely different, someone in whom prophecy is fulfilled, whose ministry is to include everyone in the life of God. Baptism in the Spirit is that inclusion, which Jesus has brought with him, as it were, from eternity into time. The Baptist offers baptism in water as preparation for baptism in the Spirit. We are able to hear his message, and to recognize Jesus in the way that John does, because John has proclaimed that this inclusion in the life of God has already been accomplished in eternity, and that Jesus is bringing it to us in the Spirit. It remains for John’s hearers, and for us, only to respond to it. We can hear it and respond to it because John has shaken up our usual perceptions of time and the world, and opened us up to the spiritual reality which he perceives.
Today’s Gospel reading can be separated into two readings, recounting events over two days. The first part introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God and describes him as “the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” In the second part, John again introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God. Two of his disciples join Jesus.
John, in announcing that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, is announcing that in eternity, so to speak, the victory over sin has already been won. Jesus, in coming into the world, is bringing that victory with him, to begin its actualization in earthly time. John’s announcement, then, is striking in its optimism, if I can use that word, its unambiguous proclamation that victory is already in sight. This before Jesus has begun his earthly ministry. John is proclaiming the triumphant conclusion of the story before it has begun, before we know what the story actually is.
John the Baptist is undoing our usual way of thinking about time and the world. He announces the conclusion of a story before its beginning. The first section of today’s reading is an undoing of our usual way of thinking. And this undoing is a clue to the nature of our spiritual situation. The Baptist says, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” After is before and behind is ahead. Say again? This is not how we do things here on earth. On earth, hour succeeds hour and day follows day, and there’s no stopping or reversing this endless flow. And in our social arrangements, we definitely know who ranks ahead of whom, and whoever comes after shouldn’t go to the head of the line. But, along comes the Baptist and says, not so, it’s the other way around.
"I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” Well, did the Baptist know him or not? He must have known something, enough to know that he has to reveal the Lamb of God to Israel. And what has baptizing got to do with this? The Baptist is aware of his time, his personal time, as one of preparation. In his prophetic awareness, he perceives the true nature of Jesus, a nature which he knows is different from his own. That is what the Baptist means when he says, “I myself did not know him.” The Baptist realizes that his ministry is one of preparation only, of introduction, to the ministry of Jesus. John’s prophetic ministry is one of calling people to repentance, and sealing that repentance with baptism in water. Repentance, we remember, means changing our minds, changing our direction away from self-centered preoccupation, and toward God, toward living our lives in confidence that we will find our fulfilment in Him. This is why the Baptist carefully distinguishes his baptism in water from Jesus’s baptism with the Holy Spirit. John’s baptism is the beginning in time, a precondition, as it were, of the life in the Spirit which Jesus brings in his baptism. John’s baptism clears away the obstacles which get in the way of a clear perception of spiritual reality. And he points out that spiritual reality in the person of Jesus, when he says, “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 testified that this is the Son of God.” John is saying that Jesus is not a prophet like himself, but is someone entirely different, someone in whom prophecy is fulfilled, whose ministry is to include everyone in the life of God. Baptism in the Spirit is that inclusion, which Jesus has brought with him, as it were, from eternity into time. The Baptist offers baptism in water as preparation for baptism in the Spirit. We are able to hear his message, and to recognize Jesus in the way that John does, because John has proclaimed that this inclusion in the life of God has already been accomplished in eternity, and that Jesus is bringing it to us in the Spirit. It remains for John’s hearers, and for us, only to respond to it. We can hear it and respond to it because John has shaken up our usual perceptions of time and the world, and opened us up to the spiritual reality which he perceives.
And how do we respond? We have the example
of two of John’s disciples, who, when John again points out the Lamb of God,
immediately follow Jesus. John’s prophetic ministry, his break in the flow of
time, his shaking up of expectations, and his baptism had opened them up so
that they can see Jesus as he is. And they do.
Notice how Jesus reacts when they approach. He asks, “What are you looking for?” This question is the first thing that Jesus says in this Gospel. It is significant that Jesus begins his teaching in this Gospel with a question. All genuine spiritual life is a questioning one, questions by the spiritual seeker, careful questioning by the teacher, all questions aimed at revealing truth. Quest, question, same word, same concept. Jesus wants to be sure that they are aware of what they are doing. He is testing their perception. He wants to know what they see, what they want. We don’t have the full conversation here, but the fact that Jesus allows the two to come with him indicates that they answered in such a way as to reveal their true nature, their true perception of Jesus. Jesus sees that they have truly set out on the path which John the Baptist opened up for them, when they accepted the baptism of repentance, the baptism of the return to God. They will continue their spiritual journey with Jesus.
“Come and see,” he says. They will see the full revelation which John the Baptist had seen and pointed to. This is an invitation, not only to the two disciples, but to everyone who approaches, to everyone who is ready to follow Jesus, to accept that participation in the life of God which he offers, which John the Baptist calls ‘baptism with the Holy Spirit.’ John, in shaking up our usual experience of time and the world, in announcing that we can share in Jesus’s victory over sin, that we can turn toward God and be confident that we can find our way to him in Jesus the Lamb of God, has, in a few brief words, opened up to us the whole plan of salvation.
Notice how Jesus reacts when they approach. He asks, “What are you looking for?” This question is the first thing that Jesus says in this Gospel. It is significant that Jesus begins his teaching in this Gospel with a question. All genuine spiritual life is a questioning one, questions by the spiritual seeker, careful questioning by the teacher, all questions aimed at revealing truth. Quest, question, same word, same concept. Jesus wants to be sure that they are aware of what they are doing. He is testing their perception. He wants to know what they see, what they want. We don’t have the full conversation here, but the fact that Jesus allows the two to come with him indicates that they answered in such a way as to reveal their true nature, their true perception of Jesus. Jesus sees that they have truly set out on the path which John the Baptist opened up for them, when they accepted the baptism of repentance, the baptism of the return to God. They will continue their spiritual journey with Jesus.
“Come and see,” he says. They will see the full revelation which John the Baptist had seen and pointed to. This is an invitation, not only to the two disciples, but to everyone who approaches, to everyone who is ready to follow Jesus, to accept that participation in the life of God which he offers, which John the Baptist calls ‘baptism with the Holy Spirit.’ John, in shaking up our usual experience of time and the world, in announcing that we can share in Jesus’s victory over sin, that we can turn toward God and be confident that we can find our way to him in Jesus the Lamb of God, has, in a few brief words, opened up to us the whole plan of salvation.
“I myself did not know him, but I came
baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
In the name of God, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Amen.
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