You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him.
As the Christmas season ends we hear the last words of Saint John the Baptist. He has finished his work, which was to testify to the Messiah. Pondering his brief moment on the stage, he says, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.”
He lived in the desert
by the Jordan River almost like an animal, eating locusts and wild honey,
dressed in crude animal skins. His food was like that
provided to Elijah as he rested under the broom tree; and his clothing
resembled that of Adam and Eve, which had “been given from heaven.”
His willingness to live
with whatever God provided lends credence to the exhortation of Saint John the
Evangelist:
We
have this confidence in him
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Misreading the text,
some people will complain that they didn’t get the things they wanted when they
prayed. As Janice
Joplin sang,
“Oh
Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz;
my friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my life, no help from my friends.
So Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
Neither Jesus nor John
the Baptist drove a Mercedes Benz. From what I hear, Pope Francis chauffeurs himself in a compact Ford
Focus. my friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my life, no help from my friends.
So Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
The servant of God may expect
whatever is needed in the service of God, including the luxury of divine companionship -- and little more. That is our assurance.
The original Francis (of
Assisi) set out to prove God’s reliability by living with no provision for
tomorrow. He wanted to live like the birds of the air and the fish of the sea:
Why
are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They
do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which
grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide
for you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:28-30)
As Saint John the Baptist disappears into the Gospel narrative, we remember his faithful reliance on God. A New Year is upon us with January’s expectations of a better future. A new Pope challenges us to consider our ways. The Economy and those who control it regard you and me as expendable commodities and insatiable consumers.
Can God’s way be more difficult, more exhausting or more perverse than this life of consumption?
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.