The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary have connections to the lives of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops who are celebrated in memorial today.
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| Return to Joy |
The First Letter of John exhorts us to experience life and understanding from God’s Anointing.
* [2:24] Continuity with the apostolic witness as proclaimed in the prologue is the safeguard of right belief.1
The Gospel from John presents John the Baptist’s testimony to himself.
* [1:26] I baptize with water: the synoptics add “but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit” (Mk 1:8) or “…holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11; Lk 3:16). John’s emphasis is on purification and preparation for a better baptism.2
The Gnostic (present to the author of 1 John) and the Arian ( present in the time of Basil and Gregory) heresies are positioned in an article on early Christian history.
Emperor Constantine had been furious over the results of the Council he'd requested. His goal had been to unify, not divide, Christianity. Instead, three Christianities emerged: "Orthodox," Arian, and Gnostic. Thus, when Arius showed up looking for asylum, the Emperor was only too happy to oblige; he could think of no better way to display his chagrin over the proceedings at Nicaea.3
Mariana Miller notes that we have spent the past week or so rejoicing in the mystery of Emmanuel, God with us, manifested in a little infant born in a manger.
During this time after the Christmas season let us reflect on who is the Christ who is among us and whom we don’t recognize. Perhaps it’s not that infant anymore, the one that was so easy to welcome, to embrace, to nourish. Who is Christ for me today? In what ways am I invited into his light and joy?4
Don Schwager quotes “John points to the Redeemer,” by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD).
"John did not baptize with the Spirit but with water, since he was unable to take away the sins of those being baptized. He washed their bodies with water but not their hearts with pardon. Why did one whose baptism did not forgive sins baptize, except that he was observing his vocation as forerunner? He whose birth foreshadowed greater birth, by his baptizing foreshadowed the Lord who would truly baptize. He whose preaching made him the forerunner of Christ, by baptizing also became his forerunner, using a symbol of the future sacrament. With these other mysteries he makes known the mystery of our Redeemer, declaring that he has stood among people and not been known. The Lord appeared in a human body: he came as God in flesh, visible in his body, invisible in his majesty." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 4)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 John 2:22-28 recognizes we fail to come to Jesus, and asks that He gently remind us that he is eagerly awaiting our return. Come, Jesus, and hide me in the shadow of your wings (Psalm 91.1-6) each day of this new year.
Lord, help me to remain in your joy. I want to show the world the kind of trust and freedom that come from a relationship with you. I want my disposition to attract people to you. So give me your joy, not only in good times, but also when life becomes difficult.6
Friar Jude Winkler comments that the heretics mentioned in 1 John denied that Jesus was Divine. The future eschatology of 1 John is in contrast to the realized eschatology of the Gospel of John. Friar Jude explains one of the connection of levels of the witness of John the Baptist in the Gospel to the the Levirate marriage custom as Jesus is to be the bride of the widow Israel.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reflects on “metanoeite”, the first public word out of Jesus mouth. It referred to a primal change of mind, worldview, or way of processing and perceiving—and only by corollary about a specific change in behavior. This common misunderstanding puts the cart before the horse; we think we can change a few externals while our underlying worldview often remains narcissistic and self-referential.
Jesus thus stood in solidarity with individuals who were excluded, deemed unworthy, or demonized. Why? Because the excluded from any group always reveal the unquestioned idolatries of that group! He even partied with sinners and tax collectors, and the “pure” hated him for it (see Luke 15:2). The way Jesus tried to change people was by loving and healing them, accusing only their accusers. Why did we not notice that? His harshest words of judgment were reserved for those who perpetuated systems of inequality and oppression and who, through religion itself, thought they were sinless and untouchable. Jesus did not so much love people once they changed, but he loved people so that they could change.7
The mission of John the Baptist to herald the ministry of Jesus begins our contemplation of what change we are being called to seek in our lives that will resonate with our first encounters of joy in the Spirit.
References
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(n.d.). 1 John chapter 2 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved January 2, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1john/2
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(n.d.). John, chapter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved January 2, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/1
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3
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(n.d.). Early Christian History / Heresies: Arianism. Retrieved January 2, 2019, from http://www.earlychristianhistory.info/arius.html
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4
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(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved January 2, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
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5
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(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 2, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
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6
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(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved January 2, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/
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7
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(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive: January 2019 - Center for Action and .... Retrieved January 2, 2019, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2019/01
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