Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 3, 2023
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.”
Today’s gospel is abundant with imagery and mystery—the Lamb of God, baptism with water and then with the Spirit, a descending dove.
I want to focus on just one word though, the first word John speaks, “Behold.” A verb and an exclamation, this word has largely fallen out of everyday use. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) is an imperative form of the word see. Our English translation of the word maintains the physical sense of sight but opens it up to metaphorical meaning, too: to contemplate, to consider, to attend, to hold.
These words remind me of Mary’s attitude at the Annunciation and in the months that followed it. She held, contemplated, and considered in her heart the words of the angelic messenger. She held Christ within her own body during pregnancy. She held him as a squirming infant, tenderly caring for him and considering the prophetic path before him. Her attention was his.
Attention is one of the most precious currencies in our present moment. Our lives, often mediated by screens that move as fast as our fingers can swipe or scroll, go by quickly. This week, many of us are emerging from a time of travel, extra commitments, and extra errands. When was the last time we stopped to behold?
John begins his image-laden announcement with a call for listeners to behold—to stop what they are doing and pay attention so that they can more fully enter into the profound revelation of Jesus that he offers.
How might God be calling us to behold today? What might God be calling us to behold? Something about Jesus? About our neighbor? In nature?
Today, let us each ask God what it looks like for us to, in the words of the carol, “come, let us behold him.”
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 below.
On this feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, let every knee bend and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!