by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise
In the Gospel last week, John the Baptist referred to Jesus as, “One … who is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry His sandals.” In today’s Gospel, the mightier one refers to John as the greatest of all born of woman, acknowledging that he is indeed the messenger whom Isaiah prophesied would be sent before the Messiah.
If the Mightier One speaks this highly of John, we need to hear him. There is a compelling urgency to John’s preaching. We heard him last week after he came out of the desert, a place of personal encounter with God in prayer and meditation. He challenged the insincerity of the Pharisees and Sadducees and called all to produce good fruit as a sign of their commitment. Today, he speaks from prison. His disciples are worried. They know that his time among them might soon end. Aware that Jesus has begun his public ministry, John needs to fulfill his own mission — leading others to Christ.
He tells his disciples to go to Jesus and ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” This may seem like a rather odd instruction to give them. After all, John knew quite well who Jesus was. John was the babe that leapt in Elizabeth’s womb at the Visitation; John pronounced him “the one mightier than I” and even challenged Jesus when he appeared at the Jordan to be baptized, saying, “I should be baptized by you.” John knew that Jesus was the Messiah he came to proclaim. So, why would he tell his disciples to go and ask? The answer is in Jesus’ reply.
Jesus does not give John’s disciples a simple yes-or-no answer. He tells them, rather, to report back to John what they “hear and see.” In this, he accomplishes two things. First, John will understand that his (John’s) work is complete. The “one going before” is no longer necessary. Jesus has begun his saving ministry. But, perhaps more to John’s purpose, Jesus also reveals himself to John’s disciples by his words and actions. They see for themselves that all John had promised them is coming true in Jesus, and can now decide to become his followers and no longer need to do so only as an act of obedience to John.
Jesus reminds the crowds that they went to John not to hear a “reed swayed by the wind” but to hear a prophet, and they received so much more. He pointed them toward Jesus, and because they came to Jesus, they witnessed that “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” They saw for themselves who he is. Indeed, the work of the precursor is complete, and the public ministry of the Messiah, so long awaited, shows the fruit it produces with the promise of so much more, the good news of salvation to all who believe and live as that belief invites.
Today, the Church celebrates Gaudete Sunday, a day of rejoicing and praise. The events we celebrate in this Advent and Christmas season have already happened, and we live in the freedom of its grace. The one who is to come has come, and each day beckons us to follow.
Msgr. Joseph P. Calise is the pastor of Transfiguration-St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Maspeth.