Johnstide
John 1:19-34
This is John's testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
Freely and openly, he confessed. He did not deny but confessed, "I am not the Christ [the Anointed]."
Then they asked him, "Who
are you then? Are you Elijah?" Domenico Ghirlandaio -
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 [or, inmost self]."
And those 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 Notre Dame
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 greater than I for he existed
long before me. 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 like 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 [or, Healing]
Spirit.' And I saw this, and so I testify that this is God's Son."
3rd Johnstide
July 11, 2021
John 1:19-34
Each of us, at the core of our being, has an eternal self. Over time, this eternal Self clothes itself in different personalities, each with its own particular time and destiny. Our self-awareness is usually limited to our current incarnation. The eternal core self is hard to find, hard to recognize.
When John the Baptist is asked who he is, he answers from an awareness of his temporal self. ‘I am not Elijah, not the Christ, not the prophet.’ At the same time, he is clear about his personal destiny—that he came to baptize.
He is also clear about Jesus’ identity. He sees past Jesus’ earthly personality to His eternal core as the Lamb of God, upon whom the Spirit of God descended and remained. And John is aware that his own destiny is to serve Christ Jesus.
Carracia |
Something like
this is hinted at in Psalm 15:
Those with a passion for justice,
who speak the
truth from their hearts;
who have let
go of selfish interests
and grown
beyond their own lives;
…Their
compassion lights up the whole earth,
and their kindness endures forever.*
The Psalms,
translations by Stephen Mitchell
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