3 January 2020 - the known unknowns

Today's Readings

(Audio)

I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.

John the Baptist knew what his mission was. He knew that he was to make known the messiah, the anointed one. Even knowing his mission, though, he did not therefore have all the knowledge he would need to carry it out.

I did not know him,
but 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.'

Even John the Baptist had to watch to see where the Spirit was at work in order to carry out his mission. Yet most people seem to think that they either know enough or can learn enough that they can just act on that knowledge without being open to the action of the living God here and now. Those of us who do know the truth must still rely on the anointing to see how it applies in particular times and places.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

John probably had to be very receptive to see Jesus and realize that he was to be a sacrificial offering for sins. This cut against the general hope for a military messiah who would conquer the oppressors of Israel. The Holy Spirit was the fire that would consume this acceptable sacrifice. But had John not been attentive to the Holy Spirit how could he have known this? Even today the words that John used are echoed in the mass when the host is elevated for us to adore. Even today his fidelity to the Spirit helps us to understand the meaning of the life of Jesus.

The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

The world didn't want the kind of messiah that Jesus turned out to be. They didn't want to be transformed from within. They wanted their problems solved from the outside. But honestly, don't we feel this way as well from time to time?

See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.

In our hearts we sometimes feel that God being our Father is a nice sentiment but not particularly helpful in our circumstances. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Being sons and daughters of God, sustained by his infinite love, is the deeper truth. Our identity in him is the basis of any real hope we have.

We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.

And so we return to John the Baptist. We avail ourselves of the promised sacrificial lamb and ask the Holy Spirit to consume us in our own lives with the all consuming fire of God's love.

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;