Recognise, He is One Among You!
Scripture:
John 1:6-8,
John 1:19-28,
Isaiah 61:1-2,
Isaiah 61:10-11,
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24.
Reflection
Dear sisters and brothers,
We are invited today to reflect on the text from the Gospel according to John (John 1:1-6 & John 1:19-28):
“A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
he admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.”
There are important questions in the text to reflect on the wholistic understanding of the third Sunday of Advent.
Let us ask those important questions before we start to reflect:
Important Questions are:
Who am I?
What am I?
How am I?
Where am I?
Let us reflect one by one...
1. The Sent:
John was sent from God.
I may not be John.
We have different names.
We have different identities.
Therefore,
We come to the conclusion that each and everyone of us are sent from God.
God calls us by our names.
Do we have choice?
No.
We have no choice.
We have to obey.
We have to agree.
We have to take up.
Do we need to accept?
Yes, we need to accept the invitation from God.
We need to understand that we are created to be sent as John accepted his call to be a forerunner, to be a torchbearer.
We need to understand that we are called by our names to be sent.
Then, my understanding clears the path to be a forerunner and to be a torchbearer.
How am I sent?
I am sent as a priest.
I am sent as a pastor.
I am sent as a preacher.
I am sent as a religious person.
I am sent as a teacher.
I am sent as a doctor.
I am sent as a nurse.
I am sent as a farmer.
I am sent as a married woman.
I am sent as a married man.
I am sent as a single.
I am sent as a parent.
I am sent as a professional.
I am sent as a difficult person.
Why does God call us by our name and send us?
Our second point of reflection follows from here.
2. The Purpose:
The second point of reflection is the purpose.
God calls us and sends us for His purpose.
The important point is: God sends us for His purpose.
What is His purpose?
To understand our own purpose, we need to understand the purpose of John.
The purpose of John is to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
So,
God’s purpose is to testify the Light.
Who is this Light that John has to testify in his life?
Jesus Christ is the Light.
John has to testify Jesus Christ.
In other words, John has to witness Jesus Christ by his way of life.
We too are called by our names and sent from God to witness the Light, Jesus Christ and His marvellous works by our way of life.
This is our purpose.
We are here on this earth for this purpose.
There is no other purpose other than witnessing Jesus Christ in our lives.
If we go the wrong way, we have not understood our purpose according to God’s will in our lives.
That is the reason, we are aimless.
That is the reason, we become useless.
That is the reason, we are not happy.
That is the reason, we are not in peace.
That is the reason, we are not prosperous.
This negative vibration makes me to ask the further question.
The question is: Why am I not able to understand my purpose?
This question leads us to the third point of reflection?
3. Being Humble:
John was blessed with a good family.
John was blessed with good religious practices.
John was blessed with clear understanding of his purpose.
John was asked:
Are you the Christ?
Are you Elijah?
Are you the prophet?
He distinctly and unmistakably admitted that he was not the Christ, he was not Elijah and he was not the prophet.
And he denied the false illusion or imaginary of the Jews.
Then,
If John was not the Christ, Elijah and the prophet, who John was.
John was a voice in the wilderness as Isaiah mentions (Isaiah 61:1-2,
Isaiah 61:10-11):
“The spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the LORD GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.”
In other words, John was a voice from God.
He was a voice for prisoners.
He was a voice for the poor.
He was a voice for the brokenhearted.
He was a voice for the captives.
Despite all, John humbles himself saying ‘I am not worthy’.
He treated himself as a slave for God (sandal strap I am not worthy to untie).
What a personality, John was.
We sell ourselves for cheap popularity.
We are ready to do anything to be rich, famous in the world.
We are ready to compromise on the values of the Kingdom for our pleasure.
We misuse our power and authority.
We are overall selfish and individual.
John showed us the clear path to understand our call, our vocation, and our purpose.
Be humble in all circumstances understanding the call from God and living out our purpose in our lives.
4. The Recognition:
I am not saying here the recognition that people long for in this world.
By recognition, I mean that John recognised (who he is) himself and he recognised his purpose by recognising Jesus Christ, the Light.
With this above understanding, I would like to ask a question to each one of us:
Is it possible for us like John to distinctively recognise ourselves and the others in this materialistic and individualistic world?
Yes, of course, we can recognise like John, if we are the doers of Saint Paul’s words (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24):
“Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.
May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.”
First and foremost, we need to rejoice always in our lives.
Rejoicing is the quality of being in the presence of God always.
Then,
To sustain the rejoicing, we have to pray without ceasing 24*7 all the time and till every word and deed becomes prayer in our lives.
When prayer becomes part of our lives, we give thanks in all circumstances, good and bad, happiness and sadness, the pandemic or no, job gained or lost, financial profit or loss, healthy relationships or broken relationships, during depression or stressful time, by accepting the will of God in our lives and living God’s purpose.
To live God’s purpose, we discern the Spirit to be a prophet of God, weighing good and bad according to the values of the Kingdom of God in order to avoid all evil words and deeds being faithful to God, faithful to one another and faithful to oneself.
When we live the above values faithfully as Saint Paul mentions in his letter, the God of peace will make us perfectly holy and preserve us entirely, spirit, soul, and body, as blameless as John for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We need to just trust and hope in His providence as John did in his life.
Dear sisters and brothers,
Let us understand our lives as the person, who was sent from God to fulfil His purpose not by pride but by humility recognising God in everyone including in us.
I would like to conclude this reflection with a question:
Can I be humble to say that I am now able to recognise Christ in the persons of the ordinary and familiar men and women in our midst with their unimpressive habits, backgrounds, and looks (as Isaiah mentions) even after 2020 years?
If we say ‘Yes’, it will be easy for us to recognise the Incarnation of Christ among us.
And I am sure that Christmas will make our lives really meaningful.
The One, who calls us is faithful, and He will also accomplish His purpose in our lives.
May the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen…
