“What
did you go out to see?”
Jesus asks the crowd in today’s Gospel why they ran
to see John the Baptist? Sometimes when we go to hear a famous speaker or go to
someone we admire we are looking for answers. Our expectations are often not
grounded in reality. Jesus asks the people what did they expect when they went
to see John? Were they looking for someone nicely dressed? No, they were
looking for a prophet and John was the greatest of these. Jesus’s words are
almost like a eulogy for John.
John announces and makes way for Jesus, marking the
end of one era and the beginning of another. John announces a new time. John
names the question we so often ask when a new exciting leader comes on the
scene: Is this the one? Is this the person we’ve been waiting for? And if it is,
how will we know? Our expectations can often be so great because we are
constantly in need of renewal. Where in your life today do you need to
experience fresh hope and newness?
The Gospel ends with a paradox: John is the greatest
that has ever been born; yet the people who are considered the ‘lowest’ or the
‘least’ in this world are considered even greater than John by God. A statement
that no doubt would have left a few people scratching their heads.
“O Come, O Come,
Emmanuel, come forth from deep within me with Christmas luminous beauty. For my
heart has become the sacred crib, the birthing place of God among us.” Edward
Hays (Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim)
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