Second Ordinary Sunday, Year A
Theme: From Not Knowing To Knowing 由不認識到認識
What caught my attention today was the Baptist’s declarations that he did not know Jesus, not once but twice (John 1:31, 33). My first question was whether the Baptist was denying Jesus like Peter did in the future. A search for relevant texts of Peter’s denial yields four instances of “I do not know him/this man…” (Matthew 26:72, 74; Mark 14:71; Luke 22:57). In Greek, the verb is in perfect tense. That is, the situation has finished but continues. Peter denies knowing Jesus in the past and at the moment of speaking, he does not know Jesus! However, in the case of the Baptist, the verb is in pluperfect tense. That is, the situation had finished at some point of time in the past. Some other things happened. Whether the situation continues to the present is open. That is to say, long time ago, the Baptist did not know Jesus. Now he knows! No wonder, he was able to testify that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and later that Jesus is the Son of God (1:34)!
Logically, we should continue to wonder how the transition from not knowing to knowing took place. Let’s rewind to the beginning, the very beginning of the Baptist’s existence. From the gospel of Luke, we know that there was a first encounter between the Baptist and Jesus when they were still in the wombs of their mothers (Luke 1:41, 44). When the BVM visited Elizabeth, who was in her sixth month of pregnancy, the Baptist was animated by the Holy Spirit so much so that he leapt in joy in his mother’s womb though he did not see Jesus! After their births, they each went separate ways until they met again some thirty years later at the River Jordan. Before that time, they had hardly met. Then how did the Baptist recognize Jesus?
According to his own testimony, John says, “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’” (John 1:33) So, it was a private revelation in which God spoke to the Baptist and gave him an indicator to identify the Messiah, the Son of God. The indicator was Holy Spirit who is also known as the Spirit of Jesus in other places of the New Testament (24:49, Acts 16:7 and Galatians 4:6 etc.). When the Holy Spirit comes down and remains with a person, that person is the Messiah, the Son of God (John 1:34). Imprinted with a brief animation by the Holy Spirit when he was still in the womb of his mother, the Baptist, very much like a Geiger counter, could now be able to sense the presence of the source of the Holy Spirit, namely Jesus Christ who came for his baptism! Moreover, the Baptist has a deeper understanding than his contemporaries. He knows that the Messiah does not come to overthrow the Roman colonial rule. His role is much bigger because the Messiah is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world (1:29)!
By the way, this sign of “coming down and remaining” suggests a corollary about our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Though we are given the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Confirmation and His seven gifts (Isaiah 11:2-3), in reality the Holy Spirit may not remain with us forever so that we may be able to bear the nine fruits (Galatians 5:22-23)! Unlike Jesus who shall never lose the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is His Spirit, we may lose the Holy Spirit!
The first thing that comes to mind when we talk about losing the Holy Spirit is sin. For example, in the famous repentance psalm, David prays that God does not remove the Holy Spirit from him (Psalms 51:13) because he had committed adultery and murder. But sometimes, God may remove the Holy Spirit from us for our good! For example, John the Baptist had experienced the animation by the Holy Spirit when he was still in his mother’s womb. Perhaps for the health of both Elizabeth and the Baptist, the Holy Spirit did not stay for long. Imagine how much suffering a “hyper-active” Baptist in her womb would cause an aged Elizabeth! Thus for our wellbeing, sometimes God would withdraw the Holy Spirit from us. Besides animating us to forge ahead, sometimes, the Holy Spirit prevents us from doing obviously good things (Acts 16:6). God’s wisdom is truly unfathomable. Like wind, the Holy Spirit blows where it wills (John 3:8). Therefore it is only natural that we are not able to possess the Holy Spirit and may lose Him!
In the narrative of the gospel of Matthew, the Baptist has expressed his intention to be baptized by Jesus (Matthew 3:14). Jesus declines and the Baptist is denied the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit. Perhaps this lack of the Holy Spirit in the Baptist is one of the reasons why “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (11:11). If that is the case, then the possession of the Holy Spirit is essential for partaking life into the kingdom of heaven. Brethren! How can we not know the Holy Spirit and establish a good working relationship with Him if we want to go to heaven?
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: mexperience.com
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