Meeting Christ
Jan 3: Christmas Weekday
There are things we can know about God through intuition and even logic.1 But there are some things we only know because God told us. And further, there are some thing we can only know because God the Son told us.
Today’s readings seem to be about encountering Christ, and through Him, God.
Reading 1
1 JN 2:29–3:6
If you consider that God is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him.
See here, right at the top of the passage, John is laying out a logical argument. If God is righteous, it stands to reason that righteous people come from Him.
Jesus told us that we’re God’s children, a new understanding of our relationship to God which we only know about because it was revealed to us. We don’t know what we shall be, because that hasn’t been revealed.
He has revealed that He takes away sins. But when we continue to sin, we will no longer “know” Him. This is another way of saying we won’t have a healthy relationship with him. Sin is a violation of our relationship, and we can only mend the relationship through Jesus’ forgiveness. That’s why we go to confession.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 98:1, 3CD-4, 5-6
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
This is the same psalm as yesterday! They just added in the verse about using the harp and trumpets, neither of which I know how to play. Pretty sure they’re a metaphor, though. He means don’t celebrate quietly, I think.
Alleluia
JN 1:14A, 12A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him
he gave power to become the children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Accepting Jesus, knowing Him, means being a child of God.
Gospel
Jn 1:29-34
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."
John’s line, “I did not know him,” can be confusing. Surely John knew Jesus, right? We’ve already established that their moms were close. The footnotes say John the Evangelist just wasn’t aware they were cousins, but I think there’s something else going on. I think John the Baptist is saying he didn’t recognize Jesus was the messiah, at first.
And I think that’s okay. Remember the sheep and the goats2 (even though that story isn’t told in John):
‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
John the Baptist3 isn’t aware that his cousin is Christ. I mean, who would think that? But he still treats Jesus with due respect and kindness. It’s not really important if he recognizes the Christ this day.
We may not “know” Jesus, or recognize him in the poor, the sick, the hungry, the naked, the imprisoned. But if we’re righteous, Jesus will know us, which is the start of everything.
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cf. basically anything Thomas Aquinas has written.
Writing about John the Baptist in the Gospel of John is so confusing.