4 January 2019 - all that and more

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Behold, the Lamb of God.

There is so much in this verse. There is the whole history of a people and the preparation God was doing in order to prepare for their deliverance. The disciples of John are much like us when they encounter Jesus. They knew they found something massively important, but couldn't explain even what they were looking for when they did. They didn't even really know what they ought to be seeking. They just knew they wanted more. They knew God had a plan to give it to them.

"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher)

Jesus is the teacher par excellence. These disciples sought a teacher. But they found him who is the truth itself. They found what they knew they needed but so much more as well. Not merely someone who could dispense wisdom, but one whose every word was living wisdom. Not one who merely understood Scripture or sacred traditions, but the one by whom those things were given.

The disciples of John knew that they had found the one whom they sought. Their restless hearts were beginning to rest. But they knew they needed more.

"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."

And so to must we follow Jesus. We have never fully compassed all that is contained in his being. There is always more to see and to learn. The more we do the more we are able to proclaim with these others that "We have found the Messiah".

It is the process of progress that gives us confidence. The reading from John might otherwise terrify us.

Whoever sins belongs to the Devil,
because the Devil has sinned from the beginning.

We are begotten by God in baptism. But this works itself out in our lives as we follow Jesus. Only gradually and by persistence do we reach the realms of light wherein no one can sin or even desires to sin.

No one who is begotten by God commits sin,
because God's seed remains in him;
he cannot sin because he is begotten by God. 

God makes us new from the inside out. Following him allows that seed of life to work its way to the surface from within. It is perhaps more than we bargained for. But it is everything we sought and more.

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.