Sunday Advent - Week 3

Gospel

JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28


A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light so that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to testify to the light.

And 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.

Question: 

The question from Bishop Baron: What is different about Jesus that sets him apart from just another teacher, prophet, or seer?

Reflection:

The first word that comes to mind is "Completion." A second word is a "Fulfillment." In first-century Palestine, there was a prophet, teacher, or seer behind every rock. It was a time of growing and universal sense of time of great change. The various self-called messengers each had a different message and offered a wide variety of promises. 

Only John is mentioned in Scripture because his ministry pointed the way to Christ. John was the last prophet because he directly pointed to Jesus who was the completion of all that had been prophesied before. Jesus is a prophet but he fulfills his prophecy for himself.  He is a teacher but what he teaches is the nature of himself as the Son of God. He is a seer who sees a future transformed by his death and resurrection. He is the left hand and the right hand. He is the beginning and the end and beginning after the end. 

I suggested two words in the first paragraph but we can add adjective after adjective, noun after noun, or description after description until we run out of words and finally come to realize, grasp and embrace that he is not just words but he is the "Word" and through Him, all things will come to be now and forever.