St. Johnstide
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| Lamb of God |
John 1: 19-34
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.”
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| John and the Lamb of God |
St. Johnstide
July 5, 2015
John 1:
19-34
In the ancient world view,
the four primal states of being were arranged in ascending order. First was the
solid state, called earth. Then came the fluid state – water; then invisible ‘thin
air’ and finally radiant warmth, called fire. Fire evaporates water; water
quenches fire. Air mediates between them. The elements exist within us as the
solidity of bone, the flow of blood, the breath of air and our constant warmth.
John baptized with water. It
was a ritual of purification. By being immersed in water, people had a glimpse
of the flow of their lives. They recognized their failings and errors. It
stirred them to change their ways. John indicates that Christ will bring with
Him another kind of baptism – an immersion in the airy breath of a healing
spirit, and the warmth of a purifying fire.
Were the element of a water
baptism to prevail in our lives, we would likely drown in the enormity of our
sins. But Christ brings with Him the means to overcome. He will help us carry
the burden. And He will bring us the breath of His healing, comforting spirit,
which breathes peace into our souls. And with it He kindles in us the fire of
enthusiasm, which ignites our will to bring about the good. John the Baptist
announces this with his health-bearing, guilt conscious fiery words.
Thus will all our elements,
all our states of being, be brought into harmony. We will water the solid body
of earth with our tears of remorse; and we will breathe in Christ’s peace,
kindling in our spirits the purifying fire of love, a creative fountain of
being. As the poet Rumi says:
The voice of the fire says:
“I am not fire, I am fountainhead,
Come into me and don’t mind the sparks.”
