THE WORD
FIRST READING Bar 5: 1–9
Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on forever the splendor of glory from God: wrapped in the mantle of justice from God, place on your head the diadem of the glory of the Eternal One.
For God will show your splendor to all under the heavens; you will be named by God forever: the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship. Rise up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from east to west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you: but God will bring them back to you carried high in glory as on royal thrones.
For God has commanded that every lofty mountain and the age-old hills be made low, that the valleys be filled to make level ground, that Israel may advance securely in the glory of God.
The forests and every kind of fragrant tree have overshadowed Israel at God’s command; for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with the mercy and justice that are his.
SECOND READING Phil 1: 4–6.8–11
Praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
GOSPEL READING Lk 3: 1–6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. He went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
IN OTHER WORDS
Luke makes a lengthy presentation of John the Baptist as precursor of Christ, dropping off important historical names of people with significant stature both from the imperial (civil) government and the religious ranks. From the imperial side we have Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, and Lysanias. From the religious side we have Anna and Caiaphas.
This method of presentation does not only introduce John into the world stage but it also puts the greatness of John on equal footing with these leaders. John is introduced as great and to be the precursor of someone much greater than he or his message. If the precursor is great, then the one to follow is even greater. By placing Jesus in the background and putting John forward, the gospel writer highlights not only Jesus’ humility but also his great importance. The irony plays out well because as Jesus highlights John’s role, Jesus’ greatness becomes more nuanced, enhancing a different dimension of greatness not all of us realize.
The greatness of John, however, lies in his proclamation of the message of conversion and not in anything else. The task of John is difficult. The temptation to take on the honor and glory must have played in his mind, human as he was, while he was preaching. He started already to gather followers and many perceived him to be influential and therefore someone who wielded power through a flick of a finger and/or by a simple command. It must have been the same with Jesus; to claim and to correct wrong impressions or perceptions must have suggested themselves to him, if only to put everyone on the same path. Unfortunately, this “would have been” scenario is purely hypothetical. The fact is that Jesus acknowledged John, as every person should, to be someone of great significance.
How easy is it for us to focus only on the appearance of a person? How often do we forget the importance of someone when we face other people? How many times have we been tempted to take upon ourselves the praise and honor for a certain project or event, to the detriment of another person or group?
Perhaps we should keep at the forefront of our minds the old adage “Do not judge a book by its cover” as a reminder that we should never prejudge the worth of others by outward appearance alone.
- Fr. Joey Miras, SVD (Toronto, Canada)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
