January 2, 2026, Friday before Epiphany
Lectionary: #205, John 1: 29-34
Scripture
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.
Reflection
This is the seeing-eye gospel”, where readers, using the seeing experience of John the Baptist, learn to see Christ. First, he learned to recognize him when he saw him: “When John caught sight of Jesus coming toward him, he exclaimed: ‘Look there! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John does not hesitate to let us know how he gradually got to know the Lord. At first, he says, “I did not recognize Him…” John the Baptist also adds this valuable hint at a way to recognize the Lord: “I saw the Spirit descend like a dove from the sky, and it came to rest on him. But, as I say, I did not recognize him.”
Getting to know Christ is, of course, vital for all Christians. We can only trust someone we know and trust. We can only believe in someone with whom we have some relationship. If we are to commit our lives to someone, live for that person, stake all our work and dreams on them, we had better know them. The point here is not just to know him for reassurance and guarantees, but to know him because knowledge begets love, and love begets a rich, enthusiastic, faith-filled day-to-day fullness.
We most assuredly will not follow, live for, and die for a person with whom we have no intimacy. Religion without love is religion on ice, not to be used daily but only in case of “need”. It is “emergency” religion, “code blue” worship. It has nothing to do with relationships, intimate connections, and close associations. It is impersonal. It is brain-alive and soul-dead. Men and women (not just women) have to live for someone. For Christians, that someone is Christ the Lord, the personal Savior and lover of humankind.
This is expensive grace. We are called upon to make an effort to look and see. This grace is remarkable because, in fact, much of our knowledge of Christ comes from our understanding of the neighbor. To see the workings of the Spirit in the neighbor is to “learn Christ” firsthand. John saw the Spirit come upon Christ and admits that at first he “did not recognize him” until he was told what to look for. Looking at Christ with new eyes, he could say, “Now I have seen for myself…” Looking for signs of Christ and listening for the sounds of Christ in people and in events is the first step in the long faith journey toward a personal relationship with Him.
Love of the neighbor is welded to the love of Christ. The entire gospel of John is predicated on the idea that my friendship with Christ is essentially dependent on my loving respect for people. At the close of today’s gospel, John the Baptist sees the light: “Now I have seen for myself and have testified, ‘This is God’s chosen One.'”
Someone said that the only true success in life is loving well. Early in his gospel, John the beloved disciple brings this truth to the fore. Failure is ignoring opportunities to love a Lord who wants our affection and fearing the risk of loving people loyally and faithfully. The coming of Christ means that in this, no one need fail, and everyone can taste the wonders of success.
La Salette Invocation
Our Lady of La Salette, reconciler of sinners,
pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you.
