JOHN 1: 6-8, 19-28
POPE JOHN XXIII WAS THE
POPE WHO CALLED THE CHURCH COUNCIL OF VATICAN II. ONLY THE OLDEST OF
US REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS POPE. – HE WAS ELECTED WHEN HE WAS 78, AS
SORT OF A COMPROMISE; HE FOLLOWED THE VERY POWERFUL AND LONG-REIGNING
POPE PIUS XII, AND THE CHURCH LEADERS SEEMED TO BE SPLIT BETWEEN
THOSE WHO WANTED TO DIG IN THEIR HEELS AND RESIST THE MODERN WORLD,
AND THOSE WHO WANTED TO COMPLETELY CHANGE THE CHURCH. THAT TENSION IS
STILL GOING ON TODAY.
JOHN WAS ELECTED BECAUSE EVERYONE THOUGHT HE WOULD KEEP THE THRONE WARM UNTIL A MORE CREDIBLE LEADER EMERGED, ONE WHO MIGHT BE ACCEPTABLE TO BOTH SIDES. BUT JOHN HAD OTHER PLANS, AND HE HAD SCARCELY MOUNTED HIS THRONE WHEN HE ANNOUNCED THAT THERE WOULD BE A CHURCH COUNCIL. AND NO AMOUNT OF ARGUING COULD DISSUADE HIM FROM THAT PLAN. HE WAS POPE FOR ONLY FOUR AND ONE HALF YEARS, AND ARGUABLY MADE A GREATER IMPACT ON THE CHURCH THAN JOHN PAUL II, OR ANY OTHER POPE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT JOHN XXIII THAT ENDEARED HIM TO EVERYONE WAS THAT HE WAS HUMBLE. HIS HUMILITY SHOWED FOURTH IN HIS HUMOR; HE DIDN’'T TAKE HIMSELF, OR INDEED ANYONE ELSE, SERIOUSLY. HE SAID: “”ANYONE CAN BECOME POPE. I AM LIVING PROOF OF THAT.”” HE SAID: ““IT OFTEN HAPPENS THAT I WAKE UP AT NIGHT AND BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND DECIDE I MUST TELL THE POPE ABOUT IT. THEN I WAKE UP COMPLETELY AND REMEMBER THAT I AM THE POPE.”” HE SAID ONCE WHEN ASKED ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE WORKED IN THE VATICAN, “”ABOUT HALF.””
AND ONE STATEMENT I STILL REMEMBER FROM WHEN I READ HIS JOURNAL, PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE “JOURNEY OF A SOUL,” WAS THIS: “”MY PRAYER BEFORE I GO TO BED IS “GOD, I’'VE TAKEN CARE OF YOUR CHURCH ALL DAY. I AM NOW GOING TO SLEEP, SO YOU TAKE CARE OF IT TILL I WAKE UP AGAIN.””
ONE THING JOHN KNEW WAS THAT HE WAS NOT THE CHRIST, NOT THE MESSIAH, NOT THE PROPHET, AND CERTAINLY NOT THE LIGHT. AND JOHN THE BAPTIST KNEW THAT ALSO. HOW MANY OF US HAVE REALLY INTERNALIZED THAT? WE CAN CERTAINLY SAY THE RIGHT WORDS; WE CAN SPEAK HUMBLY. BUT IN REALITY I THINK IT IS VERY HARD TO LET GO OF THE IDEA THAT YOU ARE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. I KNOW IT IS STILL HARD FOR ME, ALTHOUGH AS I GET OLDER I AM INCREASINGLY REMINDED OF MY LACK OF RELEVANCE, AND MAYBE THAT WILL HELP TEACH ME TRUE HUMILITY. I THINK THIS LESSON IS SOMETIMES LEARNED ONLY TOWARDS THE END OF LIFE. MUCH AS I LOVED JOHN PAUL II, I THINK IT MUST HAVE BEEN HARD FOR HIM TO BE HUMBLE, WITH HIS ASTOUNDING GIFTS AND GREAT POWER; AND MAYBE THAT IS WHY GOD SAW TO IT THAT HE SPENT HIS LAST YEARS BECOMING MORE AND MORE HELPLESS.
GOD WANTS HIS CHILDREN TO LEARN HUMILITY. I DON’T MEAN THAT WE NEED TO BE HUMBLED. HUMILITY IS PART OF WISDOM; IT IS KNOWING, NOT JUST INTELLECTUALLY BUT IN OUR DEEPEST BEING, WHO WE REALLY ARE. AND WHEN WE REALLY KNOW THIS, WE AUTOMATICALLY KNOW THAT GOD IS FIRST, OUR NEIGHBOR IS SECOND, AND WE ARE THIRD. OR PERHAPS WE AND OUR NEIGHBOR ARE TIED FOR SECOND, BECAUSE JESUS TOLD US TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES, NOT MORE THAN OR LESS THAN OURSELVES. AND YOU WOULD THINK THIS LESSON WOULD BE EASY TO LEARN, BECAUSE WHENEVER WE ARE REMINDED THAT WE ARE FALLIBLE, THAT WE ARE EASY TO INJURE, THAT WE WILL DIE, THERE IS THE LESSON. BUT WE DON’T WANT TO LEARN THIS LESSON; OUR WHOLE LIVES ARE ATTEMPTS TO PROTECT US FROM THINKING ABOUT THESE THINGS. AND THE BETTER WE GET AT IGNORING THE REMINDERS OF OUR TRUE PLACE IN GOD’'S ORDER, THE MORE WE IGNORE GOD HIMSELF.
WHAT IS FIRST IN YOUR LIFE? THAT’S EASY TO TELL. WHATEVER YOU DO WHEN YOU HAVE TIME ON YOUR HANDS. SOME PEOPLE TAKE THEIR WORK HOME WITH THEM EVERY NIGHT. OTHERS SPEND TWO OR THREE HOURS WATCHING TELEVISION OR SURFING THE NET. STILL OTHERS ARE IMMERSED IN SPORTS, OR POLITICS, OR PERHAPS EVEN THE ARTS. NOW THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ANY OF THESE THINGS, BUT THE DANGER IS THAT NOT ONLY DO THEY HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF INTERFERING WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, BUT THEY ALL SORT OF PRESUPPOSE THAT MY NEEDS, MY WANTS, MY PLEASURES COME FIRST; AND THEREFORE I COME FIRST.
JOHN THE BAPTIST DID NOT GET TO THE POINT WHERE HE COULD SAY, “”I AM BUT A VOICE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS”,” OVERNIGHT. HE CAME OUT OF THE DESERT, WHERE UNDOUBTEDLY HE HAD FASTED AND PRAYED, MAYBE FOR YEARS. AND ONLY WHEN HE HAD TRULY LEARNED HUMILITY WAS HE GIVEN HIS GREAT MISSION -- – KIND OF LIKE JOHN XXIII.
HOW DO WE PUT GOD FIRST? I THINK WE ALL WANT TO, BUT WE SEE THAT IT REQUIRES CHANGE, AND THAT IS SCARY. BUT THAT WAS THE MESSAGE OF JOHN: “REPENT”-- CHANGE YOUR HEARTS, GET OUT OF YOUR RUT, PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
HERE ARE SOME PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. LOOK AT YOUR DAY, AND FIND A LITTLE TIME TO TURN TO GOD. TEN MINUTES OF PRAYER OR SPIRITUAL READING. WILL THAT KILL YOU? LOOK AT YOUR WEEK, AND FIND SOMETHING, BESIDES SUNDAY MASS, TO REMIND YOU THAT GOD COMES FIRST. MAYBE A BIBLE STUDY? OR A PRAYER GROUP? LOOK AT YOUR MONTH, AND SEE IF THERE'’S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DO FOR AN HOUR OR TWO FOR GOD. LEARNING TO PUT GOD FIRST TAKES A LIFE-TIME, I KNOW. I'’M NOT THERE YET. BUT WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE.
BECAUSE YOU AND I ARE JUST LIKE JOHN THE BAPTIST. WE ARE NOT THE LIGHT, WE ARE NOT THE MESSIAH, WE ARE NOT ELIJAH, AND WE ARE NOT THE PROPHET. BUT WHAT WE ARE HAS GREAT DIGNITY. JESUS SAID OF JOHN “AMEN, I SAY TO YOU, AMONG THOSE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HAS BEEN NONE GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST; YET THE LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS GREATER THAN HE.” AND OUR GREATNESS, LIKE JOHN'S, HAS TO DO WITH HOW WE PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE KING.
JOHN WAS ELECTED BECAUSE EVERYONE THOUGHT HE WOULD KEEP THE THRONE WARM UNTIL A MORE CREDIBLE LEADER EMERGED, ONE WHO MIGHT BE ACCEPTABLE TO BOTH SIDES. BUT JOHN HAD OTHER PLANS, AND HE HAD SCARCELY MOUNTED HIS THRONE WHEN HE ANNOUNCED THAT THERE WOULD BE A CHURCH COUNCIL. AND NO AMOUNT OF ARGUING COULD DISSUADE HIM FROM THAT PLAN. HE WAS POPE FOR ONLY FOUR AND ONE HALF YEARS, AND ARGUABLY MADE A GREATER IMPACT ON THE CHURCH THAN JOHN PAUL II, OR ANY OTHER POPE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT JOHN XXIII THAT ENDEARED HIM TO EVERYONE WAS THAT HE WAS HUMBLE. HIS HUMILITY SHOWED FOURTH IN HIS HUMOR; HE DIDN’'T TAKE HIMSELF, OR INDEED ANYONE ELSE, SERIOUSLY. HE SAID: “”ANYONE CAN BECOME POPE. I AM LIVING PROOF OF THAT.”” HE SAID: ““IT OFTEN HAPPENS THAT I WAKE UP AT NIGHT AND BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND DECIDE I MUST TELL THE POPE ABOUT IT. THEN I WAKE UP COMPLETELY AND REMEMBER THAT I AM THE POPE.”” HE SAID ONCE WHEN ASKED ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE WORKED IN THE VATICAN, “”ABOUT HALF.””
AND ONE STATEMENT I STILL REMEMBER FROM WHEN I READ HIS JOURNAL, PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE “JOURNEY OF A SOUL,” WAS THIS: “”MY PRAYER BEFORE I GO TO BED IS “GOD, I’'VE TAKEN CARE OF YOUR CHURCH ALL DAY. I AM NOW GOING TO SLEEP, SO YOU TAKE CARE OF IT TILL I WAKE UP AGAIN.””
ONE THING JOHN KNEW WAS THAT HE WAS NOT THE CHRIST, NOT THE MESSIAH, NOT THE PROPHET, AND CERTAINLY NOT THE LIGHT. AND JOHN THE BAPTIST KNEW THAT ALSO. HOW MANY OF US HAVE REALLY INTERNALIZED THAT? WE CAN CERTAINLY SAY THE RIGHT WORDS; WE CAN SPEAK HUMBLY. BUT IN REALITY I THINK IT IS VERY HARD TO LET GO OF THE IDEA THAT YOU ARE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. I KNOW IT IS STILL HARD FOR ME, ALTHOUGH AS I GET OLDER I AM INCREASINGLY REMINDED OF MY LACK OF RELEVANCE, AND MAYBE THAT WILL HELP TEACH ME TRUE HUMILITY. I THINK THIS LESSON IS SOMETIMES LEARNED ONLY TOWARDS THE END OF LIFE. MUCH AS I LOVED JOHN PAUL II, I THINK IT MUST HAVE BEEN HARD FOR HIM TO BE HUMBLE, WITH HIS ASTOUNDING GIFTS AND GREAT POWER; AND MAYBE THAT IS WHY GOD SAW TO IT THAT HE SPENT HIS LAST YEARS BECOMING MORE AND MORE HELPLESS.
GOD WANTS HIS CHILDREN TO LEARN HUMILITY. I DON’T MEAN THAT WE NEED TO BE HUMBLED. HUMILITY IS PART OF WISDOM; IT IS KNOWING, NOT JUST INTELLECTUALLY BUT IN OUR DEEPEST BEING, WHO WE REALLY ARE. AND WHEN WE REALLY KNOW THIS, WE AUTOMATICALLY KNOW THAT GOD IS FIRST, OUR NEIGHBOR IS SECOND, AND WE ARE THIRD. OR PERHAPS WE AND OUR NEIGHBOR ARE TIED FOR SECOND, BECAUSE JESUS TOLD US TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES, NOT MORE THAN OR LESS THAN OURSELVES. AND YOU WOULD THINK THIS LESSON WOULD BE EASY TO LEARN, BECAUSE WHENEVER WE ARE REMINDED THAT WE ARE FALLIBLE, THAT WE ARE EASY TO INJURE, THAT WE WILL DIE, THERE IS THE LESSON. BUT WE DON’T WANT TO LEARN THIS LESSON; OUR WHOLE LIVES ARE ATTEMPTS TO PROTECT US FROM THINKING ABOUT THESE THINGS. AND THE BETTER WE GET AT IGNORING THE REMINDERS OF OUR TRUE PLACE IN GOD’'S ORDER, THE MORE WE IGNORE GOD HIMSELF.
WHAT IS FIRST IN YOUR LIFE? THAT’S EASY TO TELL. WHATEVER YOU DO WHEN YOU HAVE TIME ON YOUR HANDS. SOME PEOPLE TAKE THEIR WORK HOME WITH THEM EVERY NIGHT. OTHERS SPEND TWO OR THREE HOURS WATCHING TELEVISION OR SURFING THE NET. STILL OTHERS ARE IMMERSED IN SPORTS, OR POLITICS, OR PERHAPS EVEN THE ARTS. NOW THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ANY OF THESE THINGS, BUT THE DANGER IS THAT NOT ONLY DO THEY HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF INTERFERING WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, BUT THEY ALL SORT OF PRESUPPOSE THAT MY NEEDS, MY WANTS, MY PLEASURES COME FIRST; AND THEREFORE I COME FIRST.
JOHN THE BAPTIST DID NOT GET TO THE POINT WHERE HE COULD SAY, “”I AM BUT A VOICE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS”,” OVERNIGHT. HE CAME OUT OF THE DESERT, WHERE UNDOUBTEDLY HE HAD FASTED AND PRAYED, MAYBE FOR YEARS. AND ONLY WHEN HE HAD TRULY LEARNED HUMILITY WAS HE GIVEN HIS GREAT MISSION -- – KIND OF LIKE JOHN XXIII.
HOW DO WE PUT GOD FIRST? I THINK WE ALL WANT TO, BUT WE SEE THAT IT REQUIRES CHANGE, AND THAT IS SCARY. BUT THAT WAS THE MESSAGE OF JOHN: “REPENT”-- CHANGE YOUR HEARTS, GET OUT OF YOUR RUT, PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
HERE ARE SOME PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. LOOK AT YOUR DAY, AND FIND A LITTLE TIME TO TURN TO GOD. TEN MINUTES OF PRAYER OR SPIRITUAL READING. WILL THAT KILL YOU? LOOK AT YOUR WEEK, AND FIND SOMETHING, BESIDES SUNDAY MASS, TO REMIND YOU THAT GOD COMES FIRST. MAYBE A BIBLE STUDY? OR A PRAYER GROUP? LOOK AT YOUR MONTH, AND SEE IF THERE'’S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DO FOR AN HOUR OR TWO FOR GOD. LEARNING TO PUT GOD FIRST TAKES A LIFE-TIME, I KNOW. I'’M NOT THERE YET. BUT WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE.
BECAUSE YOU AND I ARE JUST LIKE JOHN THE BAPTIST. WE ARE NOT THE LIGHT, WE ARE NOT THE MESSIAH, WE ARE NOT ELIJAH, AND WE ARE NOT THE PROPHET. BUT WHAT WE ARE HAS GREAT DIGNITY. JESUS SAID OF JOHN “AMEN, I SAY TO YOU, AMONG THOSE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HAS BEEN NONE GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST; YET THE LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS GREATER THAN HE.” AND OUR GREATNESS, LIKE JOHN'S, HAS TO DO WITH HOW WE PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE KING.
