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11:51am | December 14 – St. Augustine from Tractates on the Gospel of John |
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11:52am |
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New blog post: December 14 – St. Augustine from Tractates on the Gospel of John http://tinyurl.com/5e93c4
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Therefore, because He was so man, that the God lay hid in Him, there was sent before Him a great man, by whose testimony He might be found to be more than man. And who is this? “He was a man.” And how could that man speak the truth concerning God? “He was sent by God.” What was he called? “Whose name was John.” Wherefore did he come? “He came for a witness, that he might bear witness concerning the light, that all might believe through him.” What sort of man was he who was to bear witness concerning the light? Something great was that John, vast merit, great grace, great loftiness! Admire, by all means, admire; but as it were a mountain. But a mountain is in darkness unless it be clothed with light. Therefore only admire John that you may hear what follows, “He was not that light;” lest if, when you think the mountain to be the light, you make shipwreck on the mountain, and find not consolation. But what ought you to admire? The mountain as a mountain. But lift yourself up to Him who illuminates the mountain, which for this end was elevated that it might be the first to receive the rays, and make them known to your eyes. Therefore, he was not that light.
Wherefore then did he come? “But that he might bear witness concerning the light.” Why so? “That all might believe through him.” And concerning what light was he to bear witness? “That was the true light.” Wherefore is it added true? Because an enlightened man is also called a light; but the true light is that which enlightens. For even our eyes are called lights; and nevertheless, unless either during the night a lamp is lighted, or during the day the sun goes forth, these lights are open in vain. Thus, therefore, John was a light, but not the true light; because, if not enlightened, he would have been darkness; but, by enlightenment, he became a light. For unless he had been enlightened he would have been darkness, as all those once impious men, to whom, as believers, the apostle said, “You were sometimes darkness.” But now, because they had believed, what?—” “but now are you light,” he says, “in the Lord.” Unless he had added “in the Lord,” we should not have understood. “Light,” he says, “in the Lord:” darkness you were not in the Lord. “For you were sometimes darkness,” where he did not add in the Lord. Therefore, darkness in you, light in the Lord. And thus “he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of the light.” — On John 1:6-14.
First reading: Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11
Canticle: Luke 1:46-50,53-54
Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Gospel: John 1:6-8,19-28
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
—¨in my God is the joy of my soul
Today we recall that Advent is more than a time set aside for penance. We recall that it is also a time that has been set aside for joy.
As we reflect on today’s readings and Gospel we recall John’s testimony to the Christ. John knew that the time was right, the moment was near. He did not know the exact place, the exact face, nor could he predict the moment of revelation, but he knew. Nevertheless he knew.
We too. We know that the time is near. When we reflect on John’s work as the herald for Christ, when we reflect on Jesus’ instruction to His disciples, we know that our message must be one of joy and of immanence. Our message is a living message. It exhibits itself in the way we gather, here in Church, and the way we live each and every day. Our message is a message of salvation. We are inching along, and we know, without knowing the exact place, the exactness of Christ’s face, nor the exact moment of the His ultimate revelation, that He is near.
Like John we have been commissioned as heralds. Our job as heralds is to proclaim this awesome message. We are to tell the world, and to spread that message joyfully. —¨Jesus is the way, truth, and life (John 14:6). That is not a message of sadness and dread. It is not a message of pain, fiery furnaces, and separation, but one of unity and fulfillment.
We all feel great when we hear Isaiah say:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,—¨
because the LORD has anointed me;—¨
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
—¨to heal the brokenhearted,—¨
to proclaim liberty to the captives—¨
and release to the prisoners,—¨
to announce a year of favor from the LORD—¨
and a day of vindication by our God.—¨
Wow, wouldn’t that be wonderful. If only Isaiah or John were here today. If it would just happen…
Brothers and sisters,
You and I are the anointed. We are John and Isaiah in today’s world. Isaiah’s message is just as relevant today. The way John heralded its immanent reality is just as real today. We are to make the message of salvation real in the lives of our brothers and sisters, because the time is near. We are to be those things to the world. Our Christian duty, and obligation, is to bring glad tidings, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to all held captive — regardless of the type of captivity, and to announce an eternity of favor from God.
St. Paul prayed for the members of the Church at Thessalonica. In equal measure he prays for us. He knew that those who bear the name Christian can accomplish all these things. He knew that our dedication to spreading the joyful message of salvation in Jesus Christ would win over the world. Most of all, he knew that God would accomplish all this through us:
The one who calls you is faithful,—¨
and he will also accomplish it. —¨
My friends,
When we look at ourselves, what do we see? Do we see “the voice of one crying out in the desert?” We regard the PNCC as a small Church, and may see ourselves as a small parish in a small city. We believe that other Churches, whether they be of the Roman variety, or the humongous mega-churches we see on television, have what it takes to win over the world. Certainly they have their role in salvation history. But we must not regard, and pay deference to, demographics and statistics. If we do, we fail to understand the power of our mission and the adequacy of God’s grace. We are heralds for the very reasons laid out by St. Paul:
Test everything; retain what is good.—¨
Refrain from every kind of evil.—¨
Our Holy Church does just that. We have tested everything and have retained what is good, proper, and right. We retain, in our Holy Church, the fullness of Christ’s message — and what a powerful message. We are saved. By faith and by the reason God has endowed us with, we can make the ascent to Christ. We can meet Him and walk with Him. Lives are changed because of Him.
Our message is a joyful message because it describes God and man in a relationship. It tells of God living among us, part of our history, part of our timeline, part of our daily life. There is no moment that escapes His loving care. Even in the midst of sin, He is there to call us back. Even in the midst of poverty, He makes us rich. Even in the midst of sorrow, He is there to lift us up. Even in prison, He is there to set us free.
He is there because we are there. We can make all these things real. We have His Holy Spirit which empowers and guides us. Knowing all that, knowing He is here, that we are his heralds, and that we have a message of great joy, we can say, along with Mary: My soul rejoices in my God.
Our souls rejoice in God. Let us set to work. May our work and our lives herald the Lord. May we bear the message of joy, of salvation in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.