OLDER LECTIO DIVINA

“Behold, the Lamb of God.”

In the gospel passages from the prior few weeks, we read about John the Baptist’s preaching regarding the coming of the Messiah. In today’s passage we are shown that his preaching was not in vain. He was right. Not only was he right about the Messiah’s arrival being near. He also stayed true to his word that he would step aside and direct people to the Messiah when he does come. Just as John the Baptist was a forerunner for Christ, he also paves the way for every true disciple, not just the ones we read about this week. “Behold, the Lamb of God” should be our mindset and testimony whenever we go to Mass, to remind ourselves and others that our focus should be on him, not each other. “Behold, the Lamb of God” ought to be our message whenever we tell people about Jesus. This carpenter from Nazareth is God’s offer of salvation. He is the one promised since the fall of man. 

One mightier than I is coming after me

We live, as Christians, in a constant state of hope. We look to the wrong things to sustain that hope sometimes, but we hope for things to happen, often beyond our understanding, nonetheless. Many speak of the Second Coming of Christ as the way in which God will administer justice to the world. We cannot know the ways of God, but knowing that all power in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus is a helpful piece of wisdom to keep in mind. John the Baptist was constantly deferring to Jesus, pointing to Christ, not himself, as the ultimate source of mercy. If only more leaders did the same. If we are ever put in a position of influence, it should serve us well to remember that we have no power except that which God has given to us. If God has given it to us, he has entrusted it to us; he has trusted us to use that power to draw people closer to him. Also, if he has given it to us, he can take it away. John the Baptist not only knew this. He looked forward to stepping aside and making way for Christ. Jesus entering his life to be baptized was a sign that his task was complete and that he did it well. Let that be a testimony and example for any leadership roles we play in life: that we may lead people to Christ and then step aside.

he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit

St. Maximilian Kolbe said the Holy Spirit is the conception that springs forth from the love between the Father and the Son. This is the missing element in so many of our spiritual lives: love. When people came to see John and asked “Who are you” it’s as if they were asking, “What are we missing?” and John’s answer was “love”. It is the same message Jesus has when he says love is the fulfillment of the law, and when St. Paul says, “if I have not love, I am nothing,” and when John the Apostle writes, “God is love”. 

the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was

Those who seek shall find. That is especially true for those who seek Jesus. He is the truth, and those who choose to pursue and dwell in the truth will not be disappointed. They will draw from a well so deep that no amount of lifetimes would be enough to reach the bottom. They draw from the well of living water that makes them never thirst again. No wonder the magi have such splendid gifts for this newborn king. They understand the treasure that they’ve found. They know how wise men from ages past would have done anything to experience the historic moment they were experiencing. 

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit  that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.

We pray that all may meet Christ before they die. In fact, this Gospel passage is a fulfilment of that promise. It may seem like we have to wait for God for a long time when we are waiting for an answer to our prayers, but he does answer them in his timing. His timing is better than ours because he knows things we do not know, and his understanding of us and the truth are perfect. Christ came in the fullness of time, on just the right day. It was all planned from the beginning, from the day we fell in the Garden of Eden and God told the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15), referring to Mary and Jesus bringing salvation to the world.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High … of his kingdom there will be no end

When the world has gone crazy, it could be hard to believe that God has everything under control. Authorities could subject us to ungodly demands, but we know the Son of the Most High will have the final word. The nations of this world will pass away, but Christ’s kingdom will have no end. We ended the Liturgical Year with the Feast of Christ the King, and Christ’s kingship has been a theme throughout Advent. On this last Sunday of Advent, we get the official annunciation that he is coming; the king we’ve all been waiting for is coming. 

He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.

Jesus speaks about light quite a bit. He says he is the light of the world (John 8:12), and that we should not hide our light under a bushel, but let it shine for all to see (Matthew 5:15). The beginning of John’s Gospel is also concerned about light, and not just in John the Baptist’s words above referring to Jesus. John starts his Gospel saying, “In the beginning was the Word.” This popular reference to Christ is so profound that it used to be recited at the end of Mass by the priest while he knelt before the altar. The parallels to Genesis 1 are clear. Both John’s Gospel and Genesis start with “In the beginning”, but then, shortly after the writer of Genesis says, “Then God said ‘Let there be light.” Both Johns, John the Apostle and John the Baptist, are announcing a new beginning, tying the first creation of Genesis with the new creation in Christ. Just as the author of Genesis announced the coming of Christ with the words “Let there be light”, the Johns are announcing the coming of Christ as the Word and the light. In Revelation 21:23, when John the Apostle is describing the heavenly Jerusalem, he writes, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” The reference to light in all these instances is no coincidence. It is Jesus.

Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

Jesus is not just the preferred way. He is the only Way. Many people may wonder about this teaching. How can Jesus be the only way to heaven? It’s really not that far-fetched of a concept. These days we can’t imagine it being hard to figure out how to get anywhere, with GPS, airplanes, and highways. But it wasn’t always that way. For most of history, most places had only one main road that took you there. If you were going to a village in the woods, you had to take the only road that went there. The spiritual world is much more complex than that, with temptations pulling us in every possible direction. Not only that, but going off the path is not an option unless you want your soul to be put in jeopardy. Evil spirits prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls, and wait for you to stray off the Way like a lion stalking its prey. John the Baptist and Jesus tell us to stay on the Way not only because it is the only way to heaven, but also because we immediately put our souls in serious danger when we leave it.

“Be watchful! Be alert!

You do not know when the time will come.”

Many of us have, or have had, a pet dog who would come running to greet us after a long day. The time separated from us must have been unbearable, judging by the uncontainable happiness they have at the sight of us. He might have filled in the time chewing on shoes and salvaging through the garbage, just because he didn’t know what else to do without us there. I didn’t want to compare us to dogs, but let’s admit sometimes our behavior isn’t much better. Feeling God’s absence, we fill our lives with sin. As a society, we even become prone to try and replace God and become our own arbiters of truth and justice. This has become especially apparent in 2020. With the way things have been going this year, we may be asking ourselves, “If the Lord isn’t coming soon, when in the world is he coming?” Talk show hosts are trying to indoctrinate us into a new morality that’s the opposite of the Bible’s teachings. In no exaggerated terms, the authorities are telling many of us where we can go, when we can go there, and what we have to wear on our faces when we go. Is this the end? Maybe, maybe not. The truth that matters is simply that Christ can come back tomorrow. And at the very least, he will definitely call for us to come home within our own lifetime. Another fact is that many societies have been through worse than what we are going through now. Nonetheless, we should be watchful if only to prove our love for Jesus. What does it mean for us humans to wait and be faithful, though? It means to continue to follow God’s commandments in love. Love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. If you ever are finding it hard to love in any situation, don’t be afraid to call upon God even in the midst of your anger, fear, or whatever else you’re dealing with. He is there whenever we call upon him. It makes sense, then, for him to require the same kind of faithfulness from us. 

By David Kilby READ MT 25:31-46 The Judgment of the Nations. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled...