Corpus Christi Blog

Becoming like John the Baptist

12-14-2014HomiliesFr. Chad King

Today in our Gospel, this time from the Apostle John, we get to know John the Baptist a little better.  Let us look more closely at who he is, try to learn from him, and even become like John the Baptist. 

Certainly John is an interesting person-- last week’s Gospel tells us that he ate locusts and wore camel’s hair.  John definitely stood out of the crowd, people couldn’t help but notice him.  He was unusual.  But we hear in our Gospel today right off, that John was sent by God.  John did not stumble upon what he was to do, but rather he was sent by God to preach for the repentance of sins.  John was sent to testify to the light, so that all might recognize the Christ when he came.  John was a unique character, a character that stood apart from others; looking the way he did, we’d probably just ignore a character like that today.  However, our Gospel tells us that John was very effective.  We know that people throughout Jerusalem listened to John and were baptized by him. 

But why?  Why was this strange looking character so effective?  What made the people curious to know who he was?  Our Gospel says that, Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was.  The priests and Levites were those who were set apart from the rest of the people to offer sacrifice for the atonement of the people’s sins.  Something they believed the coming Messiah would do perfectly and once and for all.   Our Gospel says that the Jews also sent some Pharisees, remember that the Pharisees were the scholars of the Law of Moses and the Prophets.  It was believed that the future Messiah would be in line with and even fulfill the Law of Moses and all the Prophets.  Therefore, the very fact that the Jews asked the priests and the Pharisees to find out who John was, was because they were searching, they were waiting for the Promised One to come.  The people were wanting the Messiah to come and offer the final sacrifice to save them and set them free, and they were wondering if John might be the Christ.

My brothers and sisters, some people are still waiting. They are still searching for God. They are looking for the meaning and purpose for their lives; looking for happiness and fulfillment. They are looking for healing from their broken hearts; wanting to be set free from the sin and guilt that hold them captive. People are looking for the light, for a way out of the darkness and rut of their lives. Many people have gotten themselves into situations that they don’t know how to get out of. Many people do not have any hope, thinking their current low level of happiness is all there is.  Looking for that one thing, or that one thing more, that will make them happy, but they are never satisfied.  They want more, but they don’t know what they are looking for or where to find it.  Perhaps you are one of them.

Like the Jews in our Gospel, many people today are searching for God.  But what led people to this strange looking character crying out in the wilderness, someone today we’d probably laugh at?  Certainly his dress set him apart, but it was his message, it was what he was saying, which made people listen to him and not just ignore him.  Although it can be for some of us, John’s identity wasn’t wrapped up around the way he looked or the way other people saw him, but in who he was and why he was sent.  In the long line of prophets of the Old Testament-- Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc., John was the last prophet to call people to repentance and conversion, but more than that, John was to reveal the Messiah when he came.  John knew that he was sent to introduce the people to their Savior, and so he said directly: “I am not the Christ, but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

Did you catch that?  John told the Jews who were seeking, the Pharisees who they thought would be able to recognize the Messiah when he came, that the One they are looking for is among them, but they did not recognize him.  My brothers and sisters, keep in mind these Jews and Pharisees, had strong faith.  They believed in God, they were there for a reason, maybe like you are here in Church for a reason.  Maybe like them, you are seeking to encounter the Savior, believing he could bring you happiness and fulfillment.  Maybe like them, you are hoping the Messiah would come and heal your broken hearts, come and set you free from the sin and guilt that holds you captive.  Maybe you have faith in God, and are searching, wanting to find God, but like the Jews and Pharisees, you are not able to recognize him.

John the Baptist was able to recognize him. The verse immediately after our Gospel today, tells us that John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”    How did John know that the man, Jesus, walking toward him was indeed the Messiah?  To know, we must go back to the beginning of John’s existence.  Remember when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she conceived the Son of God in her womb, and then she went to her cousin, Elizabeth, who though in her old age, was also with child.  And Mary, with Jesus inside her, was walking up behind Elizabeth, and greeted her.  And Elizabeth, probably turning around, said that at the sound of Mary’s voice, John the Baptist leaped in her womb.  And no doubt when Elizabeth and Mary hugged each other, John and Jesus, each in the womb, encountered each other too.  John, even from the womb, had a profound encounter with the Messiah, so much so that he leapt for joy.  For truly when we encounter our Lord, our hearts leap for joy as well.  And just so you know, it was that encounter in the womb that the Early Church Fathers say that John the Baptist was sanctified, in a sense, baptized.  It was from that encounter, his baptism, that John knew his mission and purpose.  He was guided by the Holy Spirit to go preach and be the voice crying out.  It was because of this encounter that John recognized Jesus when he came walking to him.

But notice what words John uses to tell the Jews the Messiah had come, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Perhaps a strange-sounding greeting to us, but keep in mind, John is talking to Jews, Pharisees, and priests who celebrated the Passover every year by killing and eating the Sacrificial Lamb as Moses prescribed.  The Jews believed the Messiah would come and offer the final Passover sacrifice for forgiveness of sins once and for all.  In this initial greeting by John, “Behold the Lamb of God,” Jesus’ final sacrifice of himself at the Last Passover and on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins is foreshadowed.  And so, my brothers and sisters, in a few minutes, I will hold up the Eucharist, and like John the Baptist, will declare to you “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  Like the Jews, will you believe that is Jesus?  That is the Messiah who is coming to you, coming to save you, coming to heal you?  This is the encounter that Jesus wants to have with you, this is meant to be the end of your searching, the fulfillment of your longing. The Eucharist is Jesus. Especially if you don’t fully recognize him, will you open your hearts, and right now, ask our Lord to come and reveal himself to you? Will you have the encounter your heart and His heart are seeking?  And then after this Mass, will you be sent to make Him known to all the other people who are searching for Him?  Like John, will you testify to this encounter with God from your heart, and invite the others, starting with your fallen away family members, to encounter their Savior and fulfillment this Christmas?

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