Thursday after Gaudete, The Third Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 15, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. John 1:24-34 (NKJV)
1:24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Devotion
The Forerunner must point to the Christ, to the Anointed One of the Lord God. The Pharisees try to get St. John to confess that he is the Christ, but he instead proclaims how unworthy he is of that title. He is not worthy even to untie the Messiah’s sandal strap. There was One among them who was worthy to be called the Messiah. St. John the Baptist calls Him “the Lamb of God.” Why a “Lamb”? This title designates what the Christ came to do. He came to be a sacrifice. Our Lord Jesus took upon Himself our flesh in order that He might be the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world on the cross.
St. John came baptizing in the Jordan River for the remission of sins. He baptized with water, but the Son of God incarnate, the Lamb of God, would baptize with the Holy Ghost. All those who are baptized with the Holy Ghost are buried with the Lamb in His death. The baptized, gifted with faith, rise again from the waters of Holy Baptism as a new creation. Everyday we can live our lives in our Holy Baptisms by daily drowning the Old Adam in us through daily contrition. We can live each day in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Just as He rose again from the dead, we too rise again from the death in which our sins have buried us. To this Lamb of God let us cling in faith.
Prayer: Lord, we beseech Thee, give ear to our prayers, and lighten the darkness of our hearts, by Thy gracious visitation; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
