Day 24, Fri., 9th March: John 3.22-30
After the 3 readings over the past 3 days about the bronze serpent today's reading from the end of John chapter 3 feels like light relief. John is famous for being the "spiritual" gospel, filled with abstract dissertation from Jesus, and conducive to "high" theology. Yet from time to time John includes asides on Jesus' everyday life that are sharply focussed in their particularity. We learn here that Jesus had disciples though, unlike the accounts in the (other 3) synoptic gospels, they are not yet named. We read that Jesus and his disciples went into the Judaean countryside, and that in their company Jesus conducted baptisms. And we learn that Jesus' cousin John was also conducting baptisms, and where.
Some months ago two highly-regarded former ministers of the congregation in which I now serve became grandfathers of the same twins. (Think that through and you'll see that it's alright!) The parents decided to have their children baptised in "my" church. This occasion was much anticipated, well-attended and duly joyful. Everything was planned so that each of the three ministers present had a significant and appropriate part to play, yet such was our regard for each other that each of us would have been happy to sit in the pews throughout the service and let either of the others do everything. Confident that this would be the case I'd been startled when, one day several weeks before the ceremony, someone told me that they felt sorry for me. They were concerned that the other two ministers would somehow "steal my thunder".
John the Baptist knew that his younger cousin Jesus would steal his thunder. This could have been particularly galling for him. Although (perhaps because) he was eccentric he attracted huge crowds down to the Jordan River where he excoriated them, called them to radical repentance and baptised them. It was some of John's disciples, not John himself who raised the alarm about Jesus' growing influence. Although they had been present when John himself baptised Jesus, and would have experienced the extraordinary events that followed from that, they were concerned that the crowds were deserting John and going after Jesus.
For his part John gave us one of the Bible's best examples of humility. "“A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven," he replied. "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
My task in life is not to accrue as much power, wealth, status, popularity &/or as many sexual "conquests" as possible. It is to discern and do God's good and particular will for, specifically, me. John knew that his calling in life was to be best man to Jesus' bridegroom. His place was now to step into the background as Jesus stepped into the limelight. This point was made brutally clear when, one day not long thereafter, king Herod had John beheaded.
Some months ago two highly-regarded former ministers of the congregation in which I now serve became grandfathers of the same twins. (Think that through and you'll see that it's alright!) The parents decided to have their children baptised in "my" church. This occasion was much anticipated, well-attended and duly joyful. Everything was planned so that each of the three ministers present had a significant and appropriate part to play, yet such was our regard for each other that each of us would have been happy to sit in the pews throughout the service and let either of the others do everything. Confident that this would be the case I'd been startled when, one day several weeks before the ceremony, someone told me that they felt sorry for me. They were concerned that the other two ministers would somehow "steal my thunder".
John the Baptist knew that his younger cousin Jesus would steal his thunder. This could have been particularly galling for him. Although (perhaps because) he was eccentric he attracted huge crowds down to the Jordan River where he excoriated them, called them to radical repentance and baptised them. It was some of John's disciples, not John himself who raised the alarm about Jesus' growing influence. Although they had been present when John himself baptised Jesus, and would have experienced the extraordinary events that followed from that, they were concerned that the crowds were deserting John and going after Jesus.
For his part John gave us one of the Bible's best examples of humility. "“A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven," he replied. "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
My task in life is not to accrue as much power, wealth, status, popularity &/or as many sexual "conquests" as possible. It is to discern and do God's good and particular will for, specifically, me. John knew that his calling in life was to be best man to Jesus' bridegroom. His place was now to step into the background as Jesus stepped into the limelight. This point was made brutally clear when, one day not long thereafter, king Herod had John beheaded.
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