Daily Gospel Reflection for January 3, 2018

Today's Gospel: JN 1:29-34 Today’s reading explodes with the breathlessness of moment and choice. John the Baptist encounters Christ at the river Jordan, the dove descends. Time slows and there is only breath flowing between the two as the One asks and the other must choose. Will the Baptist witness? “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Powerful, terrifying words. Words that catapulted human beings into another reality in which we still are weaving the strands of meaning. The sacrificial lamb of Moses, the suffering servant of Isaiah and the warrior lamb of Revelations, all stand before John - waiting. I’ve ‘experienced’ this passage through so many different eyes. A woman standing in line behind Christ, waiting to be baptized, a newly baptized youth wading to shore, calling his parents to join him and of course, John. Did he have a glimpse of what might come, of Peter or the Magdalene, or me? Was he overjoyed and grief stricken as the words left his lips? Or was he at peace with God’s request? As a writer, I can appreciate the Gospel of John as a masterful theological narrative. As a reader however, I want don’t want writing tips. I want to learn, I want to BE in the moment with the Christ and with those who were drawn to Him. I want to grow closer to God and be a better human being when I’m done reading a passage than I was when I started, no matter how many times I’ve read it.

Ponder:

John the Baptist stood on the fulcrum point of realities and had the courage to speak the words Spirit gave him. Do I?

Pray:

O Creator, help me dive into Your world, unafraid and open to whatever I should learn. Change my point of view so I too can feel what I have not felt, see what I have not seen and hear what I have not heard. Help me to be a better me. Amen

Copyright 2018 Annette K. Tenny Annette K. Tenny is a freelance writer in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, a member of the Catholic Writers Guild, and a frequent contributor to the Catholic News Herald. Receive CatholicMom.com newsletters in your inbox, including the Daily Gospel Reflection each morning! * indicates required