Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 3, 2019
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
As a skeptic by nature, what I find most surprising about today’s Gospel is that anyone would believe John the Baptist’s testimony. It seems plausible enough when you already know Jesus’ identity and story. But I try to imagine myself standing in the crowd that day, listening to this rather wild man break the news about this unassuming stranger’s true identity.
Recall that a segment of the crowd John addresses has traveled out to the desert to determine his identity (Jn 1:19, 24). At this point, Jesus is unknown to John’s audience; they haven’t traveled to learn about him. Indeed, Jesus doesn’t have a single disciple yet, and he won’t gain his first one until the following day (Jn 1:35-37).
Against this backdrop, as he deflects questions about his own identity, the man wearing camel-hair clothes and crying out in the wilderness identifies Jesus, for the first time, as the Son of God. And then John backs up this bold claim with evidence—he witnessed the Spirit come down like a dove and remain on Jesus.
John seems like an unlikely source for divine revelation, especially as his testimony answers a question no one was really asking. And the descending-dove rationale sounds like a hallucination, which I would probably link to the almost certainly inadequate locusts-and-honey diet.
In any event, my skeptic’s alarm bells are ringing. It is difficult to imagine myself hearing John’s words, accepting them as true, and then becoming Jesus’ disciple. But I’m afraid that’s the point.
This Gospel reminds me that faith is sometimes hard. And that’s okay. As John the Baptist’s testimony and Jesus’ ensuing story demonstrate, the truth is not always simple or expected. But it is still the truth. And I am still called, in faith, to find, accept, and act on it.
Prayer
Almighty Father, John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching him and recognized him as your Son. Open the eyes of our hearts, that we might see the face of Christ in our brothers and sisters, especially in the poor and lowly of the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today’s feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus is another way for the Church to call our attention to Jesus’ identity, and to encourage us to call upon him.
When Gabriel visited Mary, the angel told her, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Similarly, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained Mary’s virgin conception. “You are to name him Jesus,” the angel told Joseph, “because he will save his people from their sins.”
Jesus’ name literally means “savior.” St. Paul writes to the Philippians that “God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux was a great promoter of devotion to the holy name of Jesus. “To speak of it brings to the mind all that the name stands for,” he wrote. “To call on it calms and soothes the heart.”
There are many other references to the power of Jesus’ name in Scriptures. In the Acts of the Apostles, the name of Jesus healed the lame and brought the dead back to life. The holy name is a protection from the devil, who has been conquered by Jesus on the cross and fears his name. We conclude all of our prayers as a Church by praying in the name of Jesus Christ, for he promised that “whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” (John 16:23).
The emblem or monogram of the holy name of Jesus—the initials IHS—is seen in many places on campus, including on the pedestal of the Statue of the Sacred Heart in front of the Dome. In the Middle Ages, Jesus’ name was written as “Ihesus,” so the monogram IHS contains the (combined) first and last letters of this name. The Jesuits have this monogram as the emblem of their order—it can be seen in the image of St. Ignatius of Loyola from the Basilica shown above.
On this feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, let every knee bend and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!