[ Today's Readings ]
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
John is the messenger. He is the one who prepares the way. But his greatness is a function of that toward which he points rather than something he himself possesses. This is why he is always insistent that he is not the one who is to come. He is the friend of the bridegroom and not the bridegroom himself. Fortunately, he finds his joy in the bridegroom. He is such a dramatic and impressive figure that it could be easy to think he is the one who is to come. Fortunately, he is happy to decrease so that Jesus may increase.
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he
This is no slight to John. John's greatness is precisely that he points us toward this kingdom and to kingdom's king. Because anything outside of the kingdom is not enough. We think of the most well-equipped self help and motivational speakers of our day. The resources they bring to the problem are not necessarily wrong. They are insufficient.
The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
their tongues are parched with thirst.
Outside of the kingdom we find desert. John just makes a point of it by situating his ministry in a literal desert. But everyone outside of the kingdom is thirsty.
Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again (cf. John. 4:13).
John doesn't want to distract us. He wants us to know where the water that satisfies can be found.
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again (cf. John. 4:14).
Only in Jesus do we find life. All else, even the greatest of all else, is desert. It does not have what we need to survive for long, much less to thrive. But Jesus has more than enough.
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (cf. John. 6:36).
And yet, the desert itself is not abandoned.
I will turn the desert into a marshland,
and the dry ground into springs of water.
All of those things in the world which is insufficient on their own becomes meaningful when Jesus brings his own life to them. As he walks through the desert it blooms where his feet touch, where his shadow touches, and where he smiles. All of those outside the kingdom, those who cannot give us life through their self-help or motivational speeches, suddenly have unique and profound contributions to make once the life of God blossoms within them.
That all may see and know,
observe and understand,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The LORD is good to all, and compassionate toward all his works. We insist on dwelling on the desert longer than we have to. But he is slow to anger. He is gracious and merciful. He patiently endures our stubbornness. He kindness calls us out. Let us come out from the desert. Let us come more fully into the kingdom.
Let them make known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
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