“One of the truly greats”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Luke 7: 18-35 (Forward p. 72) CEV p. 1066
In some ways it is truly fitting that St. John Baptiste is one of the patron saints of Canada—of Quebec specifically. Not only was he great—as Jesus said, “No one ever born on this earth is greater than John” (literally, no one born of a woman), but he was self-effacing, humble, and determined to ‘do his job’ regardless of what it took or how it was received. (That is exactly what I would wish for Canada—at least in its better days!)
He fearlessly spoke the truth and demanded action on the part of his hearings, even when it was not gracefully received—yes, even to the likes of the Pharisees, the tax collectors, soldiers and Herod and Herodias. The tax collectors responded with repentance and faith, while the Pharisees did nothing of the sort. And, as for Herod and Herodias, they had Herod executed for his efforts to win over Israel to God. And happily, there were those, such as Andrew and John, who went on to become disciples of Jesus and apostles.
However, when our narrative opens, John is languishing in a dank, subterranean dungeon deep in the recesses of one of Herod the Great’s fortresses, Machaerus, built in empty desert barrens on the east side of the Dead Sea. It was a desolate, forbidding, inhospitable place even if you weren’t in a dungeon, but Herod had designed it as a secure and remote place of refuge in case the populous revolted against him. And here is where John, a free spirit and child of the desert, was now sequestered. And knowing how the monarchs of that day operated, he was not likely to ever see the light of day again!
And so, as might well be expected, John had a lot of time on his hands, a lot of time to think and to ponder, time to think about his career up until that point. And, as happens almost invariably at such times, there were questions—even doubts. And so, the niggling thought arose, ‘Was Jesus the One? Was Jesus, the person John had pointed out, really the One that God had promised? Was He the One or should people shift their attention away from Jesus and look for someone else?” Or, put another way, was Jesus the Messiah? These were the type of questions that had begun to plague John and so he sent messengers, followers, to ask Jesus about this.
And Jesus, true to His often cagey, indirect self, did not answer either yes or no, but simply recited to John’s followers a catalogue of what He was up to. (This way Jesus avoided the ‘trap’ of either fulfilling or not fulfilling what the current expectations of the Messiah were.) And John, if he’d been perceptive, and willing, would have seen that this was exactly what the prophet of old had predicted about the Messiah. We never do hear again from John—whether this satisfied him or not., but in a way, this leaves it open, open even for the likes of you and me. Will what Jesus does be enough for us, or will we look somewhere else?
Even so, Jesus labels John as the greatest of all those ‘born of a woman’, and yet says that ‘whoever is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.’ That is because with poor John the very best he could even hope for, in this life at least, is to stand on the outside peering in. But followers of Christ, believers, can know and experience the fullness of all that God has to offer. Nevertheless, thanks be to God for the likes of John the Baptist who prepared the way and pointed people to Jesus, the Christ. We owe a lot to the likes of him. He truly was one of the great ones. May there be many more like Him! Alleluia.
Forward notes: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard” (verse 22a).
“There’s an iconic scene from a movie called Saved! where Hilary Faye, who claims to be a devout Christian, attempts to perform an exorcism on her schoolmate, Mary, to save her soul. Mary resists and accuses Hilary of not knowing anything about love. Hilary ends the argument by screaming, ‘I am filled with Christ’s love,’ and then hurls her Bible at Mary’s head. Hilary’s actions betray her words.
“We all know that actions speak louder than words. I’m haunted and challenged by Jesus’s response to the question that John’s disciples ask: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus doesn’t simply answer yes. He tells them to report to John not only the things they’ve heard but also the things that Jesus has done. His actions are aligned with his testimony.
“I tend to rely on words to tell people I am a follower of Christ. One of my constant struggles is having words that are more beautiful than my life. It’s easy—maybe even preferable—to hide behind words. But Jesus challenges us to follow him, to imitate him. Jesus invites us not only to tell a good story but to live a good story.”
Moving Forward: “Which is louder: your words or your actions?”