There stands One among you whom you do not know

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am

'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

"Make straight the way of the LORD,"'

as the prophet Isaiah said."

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

- John 1:19-28

In yesterday's reading, we read the Prologue of John's Gospel (verses 1-18) in which the theological foundation for Christianity is set. He tells us who Jesus is, exactly - as incarnate deity, Son of God and co-Creator, Logos. It is such a fitting prologue to the Gospel, summing up so much of the character of this book, and the true Light which will shape so much of its imagery. See In the beginning was the Word.

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." John the Baptist is introduced as the first human figure in our story of the Incarnation of Christ, the Son. A towering figure in his own time, John sets the story in its time and place: in Christian understanding he is the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, and he comes as "Forerunner" of the new -- the one who tells us of the Incarnation, the One who has been awaited. It is not surprising that the religious leadership sends delegates to meet him and question him. John the Baptist had many followers and was widely revered by the populace for his fearlessness and righteousness. Many of Jesus' disciples were John's first. My study bible notes that John is a prophet, but denies that he is "the Prophet" -- "a messianic Moses-like figure expected by the Jews (Deut. 18:15, 18)."

Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD,"'as the prophet Isaiah said." John bears witness to himself and his role in the economy of the Incarnation. He is declaring what is to come, Who is to come, calling all to repentance to prepare for this event. As we move into John's Gospel, the stage is being set for the events and teachings of Jesus' life. Prophecy runs through all the Gospels and shines through many figures - but John's powerful witness calls all to attention, to preparation for the One who is coming.

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. A delegation of Pharisees also comes to question John. The Pharisees will remain a group among the leadership which will figure prominently in this gospel for their failure to grasp the spiritual significance of what is happening in their midst. There will be individuals among the leadership who are followers and supporters of Christ, but as a class the Pharisees fail to understand Jesus and His teaching. I am personally intrigued by the words, "there stands One among you whom you do not know." St. Paul - who was, by his own testimony, taught by a famous Pharisee teacher, Gamaliel - will use these words when preaching in Athens, at the shrine of the unknown god (see Acts 17:16-34). John the Baptist's towering figure, his heroism, is in his willingness to preach about the preparation for the One among them they do not know.

The Good News comes to us in many forms: through these Books of the Church, through prophecy and witness, through testimony, all the inheritance of worship and tradition - and perhaps even through the love and care of someone you know. But we always have to remember the One among us whom we do not know. We are called to the light, to share in the light and reflect the light - as we can - that comes from the true Light. But there is always more to this God that we do not know. There is always more in ourselves that needs the illumination of the light of grace. And our relationship to the Light can always grow. When we are warned not to be like the Pharisees here, it is a warning about our own blindness. We may think we know, or "say we see" when there is so much more to learn and to know, a light waiting for us to turn to it and be healed in some new way. So today, I invite you to ponder the light that may among us, awaiting your sight, which you cannot as yet see, and in some sense do not know. John's Gospel invites us into this Mystery, and deepens its power for us. As Lent unfolds, let us consider the light that shines in the darkness, and move towards it by understanding our own natures, and what we do not yet know.