An Unlikely Witness (Jn 1:29-34)

 

John the Baptist came as a witness to prepare the way for Jesus.  Although faithful to his calling, John is a most unlikely witness.  He is not a religious leader.  He is not even part of the religious establishment.  He lives alone in the desert, on the margin of society.  He has no visible means of support, and goes around dressed only in camel hair.  John looks and acts homeless.  No one at the time would have guessed that John is God’s chief witness.  Yet, that is exactly his role.  John proclaims to others what he has seen and heard about the coming of the Lord Jesus.  The aim of his testimony is to inspire belief in Jesus.

For this reason, John’s testimony provides a threefold model that we can follow in our own efforts to be a witness for Christ.  First, John speaks from personal experience.  A genuine witness only testifies to what she or he has seen and heard.  Genuine witness therefore always depends on personal experience, along with an underlying commitment to the truth.  John’s calling from God led to his personal encounter with Jesus, and that encounter motivated and sustained his faithful witness to the truth of who Jesus is and what he is about.

Second, John speaks with confidence.  Witnesses can speak with confidence when their testimony stems from their personal knowledge.  Personal knowledge is always the basis of confident assertion.  Witnesses to Jesus are confident in their testimony because they speak with knowledge about who Jesus is and the truth that he proclaims.  Jesus proclaims that God longs for our love and wants to share his eternal life with us.  Knowledge of this truth is the basis of John’s confident witness to Christ.

Third, John speaks to awaken belief in Jesus.  Giving witness is not a matter of simply repeating someone else's words or reporting events as a detached observer. The fundamental reason for giving testimony is to inspire belief in the assertions made.  Such belief more likely comes about when a witness asserts what he or she personally believes to be the case.  This is the sole purpose of John’s testimony—to awaken belief in Jesus Christ.  Thus, his testimony stems from his own belief in the saving presence of Christ who shows us the way to eternal life and happiness.

These three characteristics of John’s witness can serve as a model and inspiration for us today.  Following John’s example, we too can draw on our personal experience and speak with confidence to awaken faith in Jesus.  We may not see ourselves as likely witnesses to Christ, but this is our calling as much as it was John’s.  In fulfilling our role, we bring Christ to others.  We become the instruments of Christ's presence.  We become a sacrament to others.  Our efforts form a partnership with the Holy Spirit who awakens faith in others. 

In the end, we can be confident of receiving the promise Jesus made when he said: “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father” (Mt 10:32).  Therefore, our prayer this Christmas season and throughout the year is for the Holy Spirit to help us make good on our calling to be a witness for Christ. 

More Than a Social Gathering (1Jn 1:1-4)

 

The Evangelist John speaks of fellowship in the early Christian community in a way that differs from a modern understanding of that term.  Today, the word fellowship most often refers to a social gathering with family and friends, especially at church.  These gatherings are a point in time for shared activities, friendly conversation, or the presentation of a worthwhile topic.  Sometimes we serve food and refreshments at these gatherings.  At the conclusion, we often leave with pleasant memories and a feeling of connection with those who share our values and interests.

For John and the early Christians, however, fellowship went beyond a point in time to a chosen way of life centered on love for one another in the spirit of Christ.  This way of life derived from belief in Jesus Christ and a commitment to imitate him by carrying out the heavenly Father’s will.  As John puts it in his letter, “what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ (1Jn1:3). 

The aim of such Christian fellowship was to promote charitable living and to strengthen the faith of the community members.  Fellowship on these terms relied on the idea that knowledge of God and love for one another are inseparable.  This idea reflects a common focus on charitable living found throughout the New Testament—not only in word and speech—but also in deed and in truth (1 Jn 3:17-18).   In fact, John’s gospel points to charitable living as the lifeblood of Christian fellowship.

            St. Paul expresses a similar idea in his letter to the Philippians.  In that letter, Paul says very plainly that, “If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing.  Do nothing out of selfishness or egotism.  Rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for one’s own interests, but for the interests of others.  Have among yourselves the same attitude that Christ Jesus had (Phil 2:1-4).

            Long before Paul wrote this advice, however, the Annunciation provides a prime example of Christian fellowship.  Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel was to devote herself to Christ even before she understood the full ramifications of that commitment.  Thereafter, Mary expressed her faith and union with Christ in her love for others, especially at the Visitation.  At that time, Mary not only brought the good news about Jesus to Elizabeth.  She also spent time with Elizabeth caring for her during her pregnancy.  Care and concern for others is at the heart of a life based on Christian fellowship.

            This is the spiritual legacy and way of life that we have inherited from the early followers of Christ.  Accepting that inheritance in the spirit of Mary calls us into partnership with Christ to love what God loves—his children and his creation.  This is the whole point of the two great commandments.  Although love on these terms can be a tall order at times, the Christmas season provides special opportunity to renew our commitment in meeting this challenge both now and throughout the coming year.

A Moment in Time (Lk 1:26-38)

 

Advent is a special time to commemorate the Annunciation, for the Annunciation is a decisive moment in human history.  Oddly enough, that moment does not occur when the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she would conceive and bear the physical reality of God in her womb.  This announcement is not decisive because it is not a divine command.  Rather, Gabriel informs Mary of an event that is contingent upon her agreement.  Therefore, the decisive moment occurs when Mary acknowledges and accepts her role as the mother of Jesus.  Her acceptance is decisive because it inaugurates the earthly mission of Jesus, who comes as the Son of God that we may have life more abundantly, both here and hereafter in his eternal kingdom (LK1:30-35; Jn 10:10).

The significance of Mary’s acceptance inspired St. John Paul II to assert an inseparable connection between the Annunciation and the Eucharist itself.  In his view, this spiritual connection begins with Mary’s acceptance that reflected the way she lived her earthly life—with humble response, joyful cooperation, and from this moment on, with complete love in union with the Word of God.  John Paul defined Mary’s life in terms of a living Eucharist and model for how we too can live in union with Christ (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 55 ff).

Mary herself gives voice to this union at the Visitation when she says to Elizabeth, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.  From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” (Lk 1:46-49). 

With these words, Mary becomes the first evangelizer, bearing in her womb the Word made flesh and bringing that Word to Elizabeth and the baby John.  This occasion also reveals Mary as the first “tabernacle” wherein the Son of God remained invisible to human eyes, all the while radiating his divine light through her eyes and voice.  Like Mary, we too are living tabernacles of the Lord who remains invisible and hidden in our hearts.  Thus, like Mary, we too can be the eyes and voice of Jesus in our relationship with others.

From the beginning, Mary understood that Jesus came for others, especially the stranger, the foreigner, the oddly dressed, the downtrodden, the sinner. She also understood that Jesus encounters us most often in the ordinary circumstances of our lives.  Perhaps this is why she and Joseph lived very ordinary lives with Jesus for the first 30 years of his life.  Mary’s whole life demonstrates that Jesus is our ever-present, devoted companion who sheds light on our own way of life and helps us shed that light for others.

This is the spiritual legacy we have inherited from our Blessed Mother.  Her humble response and devotion to her son Jesus is a model for our own way of life—pursuing God’s will in union with Christ.  Mary lived out the two great commandments—love of God and love of neighbor.  If we follow Mary’s example, our union with Jesus will transform our daily lives in a way that continues into eternity.  To that end, our Advent prayer is to always hold Jesus in our hearts and share him with others, especially with those who need him most.

A Song and Dance (Mt 11:16-19)

Why is it that the people heard the call of the flute but did not dance, and heard the call of the dirge but did not mourn?  Because they were not prepared to hear the call and thus neither danced nor mourned.  Jesus uses these examples to show how people were not prepared for his coming or that of his chief witness John.  People heard the call of both John and Jesus and saw what each had done, and yet, they either rejected the message or were indifferent to it.  Most people at that time were so unprepared that they said John was possessed by a demon and Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard.

There are countless reasons why the people of long ago were so unprepared for the coming of Jesus and his call to a new way of life.  Among those most unprepared to hear the call of Jesus were the Pharisees.  By the time that Jesus arrived on the scene, the Pharisees were so corrupt in their own way of life that they did not perceive Jesus as the coming of the promised messiah.  Rather, they saw Jesus as a threat to their greed and lust for power.  Their corruption was so complete that it motivated their desire to kill Jesus.

Their violent response to Jesus is perhaps not all that surprising.  On the one hand, the Pharisees held the seat of Moses, and their positions entitled them to cite the law of Moses.  On the other hand, they intentionally misconstrued their authority to cite the Law as license to misappropriate the Law for their own purposes.  They used the letter of the Law to impose hundreds of unnecessary and burdensome rules on the followers of Moses that they themselves did not follow.  Instead, they violated the spirit of the Mosaic Law—love of God and love of neighbor—to protect their own power and wealth.  Their corruption and hypocrisy ran so deep that Jesus branded the Pharisees whitened sepulchers—clean on the outside but full of decay and filth on the inside.  They appeared righteous, but were guilty of predatory self-indulgence and evil deeds that violated the spirit of the Law (Mt 23:25-28).

In that light, it seems odd that Jesus would nevertheless tell his disciples “to do and observe all things whatsoever the Pharisees tell you, but do not follow their example” (Mt 23:3).  This is just another way of saying that, while the Pharisees had authority to cite the Mosaic Law, they did not have a right to embezzle the Law and use it to promote false teaching.  Thus, the disciples were under no obligation to follow the hypocritical interpretations and applications of the Law imposed by the Pharisees. 

The question for us today during this Advent season of preparation is how to hear and respond to the call of Jesus.  Jesus provides a clue with his claim that wisdom is vindicated by her works (Mt 11:19).  If we want to hear the call and stay on the right path, we can look to Jesus.  He is the standard for correct judgement (Mt 7:28-29; cf 9:6; 12:8).  Do the works that Jesus does; love the way he loves; teach what he teaches; live the way he lives (Mt 28:19-20).

Jesus provides a compelling summary of all this when he says to his disciples, “I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples…” (Jn 13:34-35).  May the principle of love guide our Advent preparation for the coming of Jesus.

 

The Eyes of Faith (Mt 9:27-31)

 

Of all the stories in the New Testament, the most prominent perhaps are stories about the healing of the blind (cf. Mk 10:46-52; 8:22-26; Jn 9:1-41).  The irony of the story in today’s gospel is that, on a spiritual level, the two blind men have no need of healing.  They approach Jesus with the clear vision of faith.  Despite their physical blindness, they clearly understand and accept that Jesus has the power to heal them.  They demonstrate their belief with a positive answer to his question, do you believe that I can do this.  In healing them, Jesus affirms their steadfast faith and the clarity of their spiritual understanding.

This story underscores the need for light in both a physical and a spiritual sense.  Jesus highlights this dual role in his teaching that “the lamp of the body is the eye.  It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.  And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be” (Matthew 6:22-23).  Notice the connection that Jesus makes between light and the ability to see in both the physical and spiritual sense.  Scripture reveals three ways light functions in this dual sense. 

The first role is the physical function of light found in the creation story.  On the first day of creation when the earth was covered with darkness, God created light that he called day, while he called the darkness night (1:1-5).  On the fourth day, God created the sun to illuminate the day and the moon and stars to illuminate the night (1:14-17).  In this scenario, God is not the light.  Rather, the light is merely a manifestation of His presence (Ps 4:6).

The second role is the spiritual light of Christ we need for eternal life.  Jesus reveals this role for himself in his claim that he is “…the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8-12).  With this claim, Jesus declares himself to be spiritual light for the world.  Jesus is the light that gives life, for in the beginning all things were created through him, including life itself.  This life is light for everyone, and it “shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (Jn 1:1-5).

The significant role for light in this spiritual sense motivates Jesus to tell his disciples, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light” (Mt 11:35–36). 

To be a child of light is the third role that scripture defines for light.  The children of light are the followers of Jesus.  The followers of Jesus are light for the world and salt for the earth.  Jesus makes this clear when he says to his followers: “You are the light of the world; do not hide your light under a bushel basket.  Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:13-16).

In the words of St. Paul, God created us in Christ Jesus for good works.  Doing good for others out of love is the sure path to eternal life (Ep 2:10).  The challenge is to see others with the eyes of faith rather than with physical eyes alone.  However difficult, loving others with the eyes of faith is the only way to be children of light.