Word to the Wise
Monday, January 17, 2011 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34]Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.
Eye witness testimony is compelling, even if all the eye witnesses to an event do not describe the event in exactly the same way. Each eye witness contributes to a larger picture until a credible composite account is created. Broad "themes" begin to appear. In the Gospel of John, the "themes" of "seeing" and "testifying" are very important. Seeing is equivalent to believing. Testimony is equivalent to the reality! The encounter with Jesus brings about a moment of judgment [krisis] in which we choose to see and believe. The story of Jesus as presented in the Gospel of John continually challenges the reader with a series of mini-dramas in which vivid characters experience an encounter with Jesus and either see and believe or remain in darkness and under judgment.
John the Baptist leads off this series of mini-dramas. We heard of him in the "Prologue" to the Gospel of John, which I have previously likened to the overture to an opera. He insists to his followers that he is not the Messiah. Then, one day, he spots Jesus in the crowd and says, "the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'" John will be followed by people like the Royal Official, the Samaritan woman at the well, the cripple at the pool, the man born blind, and very dramatically, Thomas the Apostle.... all of them are people who will see and testify.
Good drama draws the viewer into the action so that the experience of the characters becomes the experience of the viewer. In the pages of the Gospel of John, we are invited to encounter Jesus and to choose to see and testify. John the Baptist points him out! What is our response? AMEN
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