St.
Johnstide
 |
| van der Weyden |
John
1: 19-39
This
is the testimony of John, when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from
Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” Freely and openly he made confession. He
confessed, “I am not the Christ [the Anointed].”
Then
they asked him, “Who are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “No, I am
not.” “Are
you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then
they said, “Who are you? What answer are we to give to those who sent
us? What do you say about yourself?”
He said in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying in the loneliness: Prepare the way for the Lord [so that the Lord may enter into the inmost soul [self].”
And those who had been sent by the Pharisees asked him, “Why do you baptize if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
John
answered them, “I baptize with water. But someone is standing in your midst
whom you do not know, who comes after me although he was before me. I am not
worthy even to untie the strap of his sandals.”
This
took place in Bethany near the mouth of the Jordan where John was baptizing.
The
next day he [John] sees Jesus coming to him, and says, “Behold the Lamb of God
who takes upon himself the burden of the sin of the world. He it is of whom I
said: ‘After me comes one who was before me, for he is greater than I [for he is ahead of me].’ [After
me comes one who was (generated) before me, for he is the prototype.] Even I did not know
him; but for this I have come, and have baptized with water, so that human
souls in Israel might become able to experience the revelation of his being.”
And
John testified: “I saw how the Spirit descended upon him as a dove from the
heavens and remained united with him. I did not know him, but he who sent me to
baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend, so that
it remains united with him, he it is who baptizes with the [breath
of the]
Holy [Healing] Spirit [and
with fire].’
And I saw this, and so I testify that this
is God’s Son.”
The
next day John was again standing there, and two of his disciples were with him.
And as he saw Jesus walking past, he said, “Behold, the [sacrificial] Lamb of God [through
whom humanity’s sense of self will be purified.]”
The
two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned
and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?”They
answered, “Rabbi [Teacher], where are you
staying [where
do you live] [where do you take refuge]?” He
said, “Come and you will see!”
John
1: 19-34
Both
illness and recovery are mysterious processes. Out of the blue, it seems, we
“catch” a cold. We run a fever. No matter what we do, we don’t recover until
the illness has run its course. Then healing, equally mysterious, arrives too,
on its own. We can experience healing as
grace.
In
the seasonal prayer, St. John the Baptist speaks
in words of flame. His flame-words are described first of all as health-bearing;
for all human souls are suffering from an illness, the sickness of being
separated from their own divine origin. John’s health-bearing flame word is
like a soul-fever, designed aid the process of healing.
His
flame words are also ‘guilt-conscious’. In the light and heat of the fire of
his words, we become aware that we are ill. We were created in God’s image and
likeness. This sickness means that we are failing to live up to our truly
divine human nature and task. The sickness of sin has laid us low. As one of
the mystics describes it:,
When I enter that
darkness I cannot
recall a bit about
anything human,
or about the God-man.[1]
 |
| Mengs |
But
John’s words are also ‘grace-divining’. In our state of illness we look for the
medicine and the healing. And it has indeed been given us. It is in the
descending of the true Spirit of the human being, the Healing Spirit, into
Jesus, the Christ. He takes upon Himself the burden of the sin, the separation
of the world. He is the medicine for our illness.
The
burning fever of the longing for healing is found in the depth of the heart. It
is this flame of longing that begins the process of purification, in which the
heart rises in love toward our Healer. Health-bearing,
guilt-conscious, grace-divining describe the interaction between the human
and the divine.
Again
the mystic:
The [healing] embrace
of God puts fire to the soul,
by which the soul
entire is felt to burn
suspects
the immensity of God’s appalling goodness. [2]
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