2nd Sunday

I think every one of us had had the experience of digging through the closet doing some spring cleaning and coming across some old embarrassing baby pictures.  A few days ago I saw some High School Seniors who had taken their pictures at their winter formal this year, and then put them next to photos from their 8th grade formal to show how much they had grown.  Then, on Thursday at the St. Joe's Basketball game, a group of the moms had apparently stumbled onto embarrassing photos of their kids when they were little.  When I saw all the different pictures of these now there were certainly some kids you could pick out right away.  Then, there were other kids who had changed so much, if I wasn't told who they were, I really wouldn't be sure.

It's a real reality that people can and do change.  We grow up, we become different.  When we meet a family we haven't seen in a long time, don't we look at the kids and say, my, look how you've grown.  When we look back at our own old photos, we realize, often we're a different person now than we were before.  Then too, when we have a great or terrible moment in our lives.  Sometimes it can change who we are completely.

Today when we hear John's version of the Baptism of the Lord, John talks about Jesus as the one who came after him, who ranks ahead of him, who existed before him, that he did not know. Sometimes we miss the point in the story, but remember who John's parents were, Zechariah and Elizabeth.  We remember the story of how Zechariah doubted the angel and was mute until John was born.  We remember how Mary went to visit them while she was pregnant and John leapt while he was still in Elizabeth's womb.  Even then, John knew who Jesus was. 

So then it seems rather odd for Jesus to come toward John and for John to say not once, but twice, "I did not know him."  When we first read it, it sounds like John didn't know who the person coming after him was.

But then, when it says it twice, maybe what he's really saying, I knew Jesus was specialy, bu tI had no idea who he really was, that he really was the lamb of God, the one who would take away the sins of the world, the one who would die for our sins, the savior, the son of God.

It almost seems as if John is watching the baptism, and as he baptizes Jesus he suddenly realizes that this person he has known his whole life is far more than he could have ever imagined.  He walks toward him and John sees him as he really is and says, I did not know him, I never knew who he really was until now, and he tells us that the whole reason he was baptizing was so that he could make Jesus known.

For us, we've finally finished the Christmas season, now we're back into ordinary time, back into the meat and potatoes of the liturgical year, and if we really ask ourselves, why are we here in Church, what do we hope to gain.  Really, at the very heart of the Liturgy, at the very heart of worship, at the very heart of everything we do in our entire Christian life.  There are three parts.  Those of us who learned the baltimore catechism remember, why are we here?  To know God, to Love him, and to Serve him.  Today, at the beginning of ordinary time, we look at that first one.  Knowing God. 

How many times in our lives do we REALLY take the time to stop and really listen, to really take the time out of the notions we think we have, the ideas we have about Jesus, and really take the time to listen to his words, to really let them penetrate us.  When we do, something about it simply grabs us, simply gnaws at our hearts, because we simply know in the depths of our beings that he's right.  When we have that experience, we can say just as John the Baptist did,  I didn't really know him.  Then, knowing who Jesus really is, as God, our whole life really is a process of simply getting to know him better and better, until the day comes when we are finally prepared to meet him face to face, on the last day.