By this time of the season, there are around ten days before Christmas. This Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday (Gaudete means Rejoice). It is the Sunday of Gladness because the Lord is near and close at hand.
Christians of the early church expected Jesus to return soon. When St. Paul wrote his first epistles, e.g. the first epistle to the Thessalonians, parousia was his major theme. Some members in the Thessalonian community took a wrong attitude in life. Since the Lord would return soon, there would not be any more meaningful things to do. They became idlers. Yet, it was boring and they turned nosy. Therefore, St. Paul wrote the following.
And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.
Rejoice always,
pray constantly,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:14-18).
These are good pieces of advice, even for non-Christians. Be cheerful and the sun shines brighter. Be thankful all the times and our hearts will be always cheerful.
In the last few days, I have been pondering on the status of John the Baptist. I made the hypothesis that the early Christians were trying to grow out of the influence of the Baptist movement. They saw the Baptist as Elijah who was supposed to come before the Day of the Lord to prepare the people. This was proclaimed by the prophet Malachi. This prediction makes up the last two verses of the Old Testament.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse (Malachi 4:5-6 RSV, 3:23-24 MT).
The role of the Baptist was first raised in Mark who recorded the disciples' question after the Transfiguration.
And they asked him, "Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?"
And he said to them, "Elijah does come first to restore all things; and how is it written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him." (Mark 9:11-13)
Mark was ambiguous. He recorded Jesus saying Elijah had come but not saying who it was. Matthew clarifies it.
And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?"
He replied, "Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands."
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).
Though in both versions, Jesus did not state explicitly that the Baptist was Elijah, Matthew made it clear that at least this was how the Christians understood Baptist.
In the Lucan version, the disciples did not raise this question. Rather, the whole thing has been settled at the beginning of the gospel when angel Gabriel announced the Baptist's birth to his father Zachariah in the Temple. Gabriel even quoted Malachi.
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. (Luke 1:16-17)
Therefore, for the three communities of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the role of the Baptist has been defined as Elijah to prepare a people for the coming of the Messiah.
The Johannine community had a different understanding. The Baptist explicitly DENIED that he was Elijah!
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" And he answered, "No." (John 1:19-21)
The Baptist could not be a liar. The evangelist says that "this is the testimony of John". The Baptist confessed that he was not the Christ. Fair enough, Jesus was. Further pressed, he continued to deny that he was Elijah. Of course not, he was John. At last, he even denied that he was "the prophet", understood in the Malachian sense and whatever name he would be known. Now, how do we harmonize the Synoptic gospels with John's?
There is one point agreed upon by the four gospels. All of them agree that the Baptist is the voice crying in the wilderness prophesized by Isaiah.
They said to him then, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, `Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." (John 1:22-23)
The four gospels differ, or rather John differs from the Synoptics, in whether the Baptist is Elijah. The Synoptics understand his actions and mission as that of Elijah on the day of the Lord. The Baptist in the gospel of John denied. I would make the following hypothesis.
The Baptist was aware of his role as a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the coming of the Messiah. He was thinking more in line with Isaiah than with Malachi. The Baptist might not think that the day of the Lord had come. Therefore, he did not think himself Elijah. Jesus and Jesus' disciples thought otherwise. They saw Jesus as the inauguration of the end time. The Day of the Lord has begun. Therefore, the Baptist was Elijah.
This hypothesis is not satisfactory because nobody can tell for sure what was running inside the Baptist's head. So, I can only keep on praying and giving thanks to God for keeping my biblical quest going.
My sweet Lord, I do not have any elaborate decoration in my heart. I simply long for Your arrival. Amen.
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