There are many aspects of today’s readings that peak our interest, such as:
John’s baptism was for the specific purpose of revealing Jesus when he came:
“the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known”.
Or
The title John uses when he points out Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.
Or
“He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit”.
But what drew my attention for further prayer and reflection is the question of how did John know he was sent for this very singular and distinct role?
John says two times in this brief Gospel passage: “I did not know him”. And yet his baptism – which in John’s Gospel there is no actual account – is for the specific purpose of revealing the savior of the world. If John indeed did not know who this promised Messiah was, then how is it that he could make such a declarative statement: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”?
How was John capable of hearing God declare to him: “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit”.?
Certainly, John’s father, Zechariah received an extra-ordinary grace revealing God’s plan for his yet unborn son. But from the time of his birth until he began his unique ministry as The Baptist, how did John come to understand his calling to such a singular and unusual role?
These questions lead to a common question for all of us: How do any of us know God’s will, down to the specifics of choosing a life vocation and how we conduct ourselves each day?
The answer lies in out psalm today:
In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, to do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart.
Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will. (Psalm 40)
Isaiah, as all the prophets, was chosen by God to make known to the people God’s word. Even St. Paul had such an unusual experience of divine intervention in his life which led to an immediate conversion and caused him to be perhaps the greatest missionary- evangelists of all time. He begins many of his epistles in a similar fashion as what we heard today at the beginning of his First Letter to the Corinthians:
“Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,”
St. Paul’s experience tells us another important component in knowing God’s will – that of a direct encounter with the Risen Jesus.
It is important for every one of us to have clarity and conviction about these two points:
1. God’s law is in the heart of each person – this is according to the pattern of our creation.
2. Our encounter with the Risen Jesus gives deep insight of our identity and purpose in the eyes of God.
Once we know ourselves as God sees us, as God created us, then we are able to discover the deepest meaning and purpose of our life.
Most of us will not have the experience of Zechariah who was visited by an angel who spoke to him of the divine plan for his son, John. Nor can we expect such a direct encounter with the Risen Jesus as St. Paul received. It is also unlikely to have the kind of experience of John the Baptist and the other prophets who were so capable of receiving God’s word for the purposes of speaking to others on behalf of God.
Nor should we long for those types of encounters with God or with Jesus, because God has other plans for each of us – and that is what we long to know!
What we can expect is that God is speaking in the depths of our hearts. The Risen Lord desires to make himself known to us in order that we might know and accomplish the will of God in each of our lives.
All we need is the conviction of faith that God desires that we know his Son, Jesus. Jesus desires to make known to us the Father and all that the Lord intends for our well-being.
With that conviction of faith, we then need to tend to this relationship with Jesus.
Discovering one’s life vocation is one thing. Knowing how to live it faithfully each day according to the will of the One who chose us for that life requires growing deeper in love with the Lord throughout life. This is why it is so absolutely necessary for us to come to know the One whom John points out in the Gospel: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
He is the One who gives us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not only the third person of the Holy Trinity, but the third ingredient for good discernment.
God’s law is written in our hearts.
Our encounter and relationship with the Risen Jesus is possible and necessary, and
The Holy Spirit who helps us live daily according to the will of God.
One thing we need to attend to all three of these important components is silence.
How much silence is in your day? . . . To tend to the written law of God in your heart? To allow the Risen Jesus to reveal himself to you?
Silence is the language of the Holy Spirit.
We long to know God’s will. It is written in our hearts.
We long to know God and his Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of world desires to reveal this living God to us, and the will of God for us. And it is possible to know, with the conviction of faith, we can begin each day with the words of the Psalmist:
Here am I Lord, I come to do your will.
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