This was the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' He declared, he did not deny but declared, 'I am not the Christ.' So they asked, 'Then are you Elijah?' He replied, 'I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' He answered, 'No.' So they said to him, 'Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?' So he said, 'I am, as Isaiah prophesied: A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make his paths straight!' Now those who had been sent were Pharisees, and they put this question to him, 'Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the Prophet?' John answered them, 'I baptise with water; but standing among you -- unknown to you-is the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandal.' (John 1: 19-27)
This Gospel passage has elicited a great deal of comment among Biblical scholars. When the Pharisees asked John the Baptist questions, he did not reply in an anticipated way. Who are you? Are you Elijah? Are you the prophet?, John answers, “No,” to all of these questions and begins by acknowledging that he is not the Christ. One scholar admonishes each of us to repeat those words of John the Baptist."I am not the Messiah." Try it.. Say it a few times and listen to your voice. It's a good thing to remember, isn't it? "I am not the Messiah."
Now we know John was not the Messiah. But Biblical scholars have done a great job in splitting hairs to explain why John said he was not Elijah or the prophet, when other times in Scripture he is identified as being Elijah or the prophet. Why doesn’t John claim these titles? Is he staying clear of them out of humility? Does he not want to imply that Elijah has been reincarnated in him or some other such thing? We could go on and on discussing this.
But rather than get caught up in the question of how John could be Elijah and not be Elijah, the question begs a deeper message. What is it that we are to be looking for? Where do we expect to find God?
The Lord did not come in a way that made people recognize him. Baby Jesus was not born in a manger with a big sign above it that says, “I am the Christ. Here I am. Look at me.” No, this is not the way of the Lord. God does not want to turn us into Mr. Roboto Christians who say, “I see. I do. I believe,” because God has pointed Himself out, told us our marching orders, and now expects us to fall in step.
No. Jesus wants us to watch, to see with our eyes, and to come to a belief with our hearts. He does not wish to spoon feed us. We are convicted not because of what we see but because of what we believe through what we see. We are converted by seeing evidence of God around us.
God invites us into the experience of God, by being with him, seeing him, finding him, and then becoming converted. So often we want to know who someone is but we do not listen to what they say. What caption, what label, what stereotype can we put on this person? We ask this instead of listening to what the person is saying. People want the easy way out, by judging people and what they are going to do or what they expect them to say. And this judging and anticipation does not get to the heart or soul of the person. We become obsessed with words and distractions. God wants us to meditate on the words and to look past the distractions. He does not point himself out to us in a way that we might know him like a big neon sign that tells us a greasy spoon restaurant is in that building over there. No, God does not do that. We must be ready and watchful for much more subtle signs of him, not only in the time of John the Baptist but also now.
John the Baptist called the people to look at the signs and to see that something special was there. He wanted them to watch for the experience of God in their lives and to be ready to respond to his message. We have this opportunity continually, in the Eucharist, in others, in our experiences, and in the world around us. We must try not to look for signs in the sky but have a true spirit of openness and gratitude so that we can recognize the Lord when he comes in our ordinary lives.
--Father Jacob Meyer
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