Homily Advent 3B: Reflecting Christ to others like John the Baptist

Homily for Advent – 3rd Sunday Year B 2017-2018 

Reflecting Christ to others like John the Baptist

Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11; 1 Thess 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,19-28 

Introduction 

A Spanish word for student is "alumno."  But if you place the accent on the wrong syllable and say "a-lumno," then the word means "one without light," "lacking luminosity." This word-play suggests that the student is not very bright. 

Scripture and Theology 

Today's gospel says of John the Baptist: "He was not the light, but came to testify to the light."  For John, these words do not suggest any lack of brightness; rather they define his role as the forerunner pointing to the light, to the Messiah. 

At a wedding for example, it would be a pity if the guests confused the best-man for the bridegroom; it would be an even greater pity, if they confused one of the bridesmaids for the bride.  Thankfully, most brides go to great lengths to avoid that mistake, by ensuring that nobody else dresses like them, so I have heard. 

That is probably why John the Baptist does not want to be confused for the Christ or anyone else.  When the priests and Levites ask him, three times he denies it. 

• When asked if he was the Christ, the Messiah that was to come, he flatly denied it, saying: “I am not the Christ.” In other words, I am not the Anointed One whom God the Father has sent to redeem the world. 
• Again they asked him: "What are you then? Are you Elijah?"  Still he said: "I am not."  As you know Elijah was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament.  And tradition had it that he did not die, but was taken on a chariot to heaven.  Before the coming of the Messiah, he would come back to earth to prepare for his coming.  And although in some John has taken on the role of Elijah, he still denies that he is Elijah. 
• Finally they asked him: "Are you the Prophet?"  Now they are not asking if he is any prophet, but "The Prophet."  This special Prophet was Moses, who in Deuteronomy (18:15) had told the people: "A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen."  John the Baptist again denied that he was Moses. 
• It is at this point that the priests and Levites, perhaps exasperated that John is not giving them any answers, asked him: "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?" 

But before we listen to his answer, why would all these learned people confuse John the Baptist for the Messiah, or Elijah or even Moses? 

• For starters, they had been waiting for a messiah for a really long time.  Already in Genesis, God promised that the Seed of Eve, that is the Messiah, would crush the evil that the snake had brought into the world. 
• And then at the time of Abraham, and Moses as we have just heard him say, God promised to send a Messiah to free his people. 
• Especially the Prophets like Isaiah who came up before and during the Exile, had prophesied about the coming of the Messiah. 
• It was about time, that the Messiah showed up! 

Moreover, John the Baptist seemed to fit the bill.  He was eccentric, in fact, quite unconventional in his lifestyle, in his words and in his actions. 

• Like a homeless man, he lived in the desert, eats locusts and wild honey, and dresses in camel hair, the kind of things prophets might do! 
• He preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand, and asked people to prepare the ways of the Lord and to make straight his paths, that is to change their ways and return to the Lord. 
• Most of all he carried out this dramatic ritual, of baptising people in the Jordan River, as a sign that they had repented from their sins. 

And so, not just the priests and Levites, but now also the Pharisees could be forgiven for thinking John was the Messiah and asking him: “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” 

John the Baptist knows his role and is comfortable with it.  He is okay with playing second fiddle to Jesus the Messiah and tells as much to those who ask. 

• First he told the messengers sent to him: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord,'" as Isaiah the prophet said."  In other words, he is only the forerunner to the Messiah. 
• Second, when asked why he baptizes at all, he says: “I have baptized you with water; he [the Messiah] will baptize you with the holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:8).  In other words, his baptism only prepares the people; the baptism of the Jesus by the Holy Spirit will save them. 
• Thirdly, as we have just read today John says: “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.”  In other words, John is even lower than a slave, whose job it was to untie the sandal strap of the Master. 
• And so, John is content to baptize only with water, content to be the best man standing by the bridegroom, content to decrease so the Messiah might increase. 

Christian Life 

In this Advent season of watching and waiting for the Coming of the Lord, what lessons can we learn from the person of John the Baptist? 

First, we must take John seriously when he says that his job is to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.  We are already a couple of weeks into Advent.  Has John the Baptist, especially through his teaching about repentance, prepared us for the Lord?  If not, we have one more week to Christmas.  Can we allow John's message of repentance, to inspire us perhaps to go to confession as our way of getting ready for the Lord's coming? 

Secondly, John the Baptist has been succeeded in his role as the forerunner of the Lord by others today.  In particular we have the Pope and the bishops, the priests and deacons, even our own brothers and sisters in the faith.  Like John, they are the voice of one crying out, not in the desert anymore, but perhaps in the churches, in the media, even on Facebook, saying: "make straight the way of the Lord."  Do we listen to them at all? 

The third lesson is for us ourselves to imitate John the Baptist, by pointing others to the Lord.  After all, Jesus told us: “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mt. 5:16).  In other words, our light that points others to God is the routine things we do in our daily lives, taking our responsibilities of faith, family and work seriously, but especially when people see our joy, peace and love that come from knowing Jesus and being in love with Christ.  Can we become John the Baptist to others? 

Conclusion 

But for us to do all these things, especially for us to testify to the light, we must not usurp the place of Christ, but must in some way be Christ-like.  In other words, we must resemble Jesus enough to be confused for him and at the same we must point away from ourselves because as preachers and doers of the gospel, we are nothing but humble and grateful servants of the Lord, content and eager to play second fiddle to the Master. 

As disciples, it might even be said that we are a-lumnos of the Lord, in both sense of the word: we are his students, but we are the kind of students who don't have the light, who are not the light, but who reflect the light, Christ Jesus, our Lord.