WEDNESDAY JANUARY 3, 2024
WEDNESDAY BEFORE EPIPHANY YEAR B
1 John 2:29-3:6
John 1:29-34
THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST: OUR MODEL
It was a personal encounter. John testifies to the world of his experience with Jesus. For John was a man with a mission. A mission he understood very well. A mission personal to him and his God. He came to bear witness and to testify. And this he did at the appropriate time.
In this testimony, we see John as the man who revealed Jesus to the world. And who tells what God told him to do. He speaks of Jesus as his project, the one that God had sent him to reveal to the world. And he did exactly what God sent him to do.
First, he pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God to his disciples. He sees Jesus as the one to take away the sins of the world.
He lowers himself before this Jesus, this lamb of God and tells his disciples that Jesus is the one that has been sent to proclaim to the world, mightier than himself and he is unworthy to stand before.
And then he gives the testimony, that as he baptized Jesus, he saw the spirit descend on him like a dove and remained in Jesus. John was able to understand and witness to the event of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan. And he speaks of his experience with Jesus and the Father. That the Father had told him that any one of whom the spirit rests or stays is the messiah. And so, he speaks of Jesus as the one sent by the Father. And he proclaims,”And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
From the experience of John the Baptist, we are called to be true witnesses of Jesus and to also like John reveal Jesus to the peoples of our world. We must be prompt in giving witnesses to the person of Jesus from our own stand point and our own experiences with God the Father.
We need to begin to listen to what God is saying to us about Jesus and how we can really give unalloyed testimony and witness to the person of Jesus with our own personal experiences to the conviction of people and to give boast to the faith of people.
We may ask ourselves this pertinent question. What experience of Jesus can you hold onto to be able to give witness of him to the world? And have you a credible personal experience or evidence of Jesus to be able to transmit adequately and convincingly to the people of our time? May God help us!!!
God our Father, in Christ Jesus is our salvation and our life. Help us to understand his life and mission and enjoy his company in our journey through life. In this new year, draw us closer to Jesus, empower us to grow each day in his grace and to be able to transform our lives so as to witness to him through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
