JOHN 1: 29-42
Jottings on John…Epiphany 2…New 2020
Time is important to JE. It’s also important for JB, Jesus Himself, & those who elect to follow Him, both then & now. Are we as conscious as we might be of God’s timing in our lives? Of whom we’re being called to be? Now! God’s time is always Now!
As well as Timing, Space is highlighted here too. Our passage moves on not only in Time, but also in Space, from spot to spot. Where we are, & where we’re starting from also has a lot to do with our search. Some time ago, I discover great, great, grandparents of mine had been buried in the old Melbourne General Cemetery. The cemetery authorities kindly provide us with a detailed map, & armed with this, we confidently set out to find their grave as numbered on said map. After an hour or more of fruitless searching, we give up in disappointment. Days later we return, but this time enter by a different gate. In ten minutes, there’s our grave! Today’s passage about people, including Jesus Himself, going out to JB to be baptised reminds me of trying find that grave. What are we looking for? Are we starting from the right ‘gate’ as it were?
That Jesus asks “What are you looking for?” - not, ‘Who are you looking for?” - is another possible starting place for exploring our passage. So, what are we looking for in Jesus? I sometimes wonder whether we ourselves are looking for a great, great, countless greats, kind of grand-parent figure in God. And, by default, Jesus, too!
Highly regarded Benedictine, Sr. Joan Chittister, sums up what she believes we’re looking for, or should be, like this: ‘a way to live calmly in the middle of chaos …a way to live productively in an arena of waste…a way that empowers us to live lovingly in a whirlwind of individualism…a way that empowers us to live gently in a world full of violence’. I’ve mislaid the actual reference, but tracking it down will undoubtedly prove worthwhile!
Brian
Afterthought: If we’re looking for a way of life in Christ, never mind Jordan’s bank! What better place to start than rediscovering our own Baptism! Grow into it. Let it really happen to us & in us. Check the date of our baptism & begin celebrating that day as never before. If we don’t know that date, set about discovering it by checking likely (& even unlikely) sources.
