It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose

 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

Yesterday we read that Prologue to John's Gospel:   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' "  And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

 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.   After the Gospel's theological Prologue (verses 1-18, yesterday's reading, above), John's shift is toward the beginnings of the ministry of Christ.  Starting with the witness of John the Baptist (today's reading), the Gospel proceeds to the calling of the first apostles, the first sign or miracle at Cana, and Jesus' rest at Capernaum.  John's Gospel begins with the opening words of Genesis ("In the beginning" -- see Genesis 1:1), and beginning with today's reading, parallels Genesis by giving us seven consecutive days.  Today's reading concerns the first day:  John the Baptist bears witness to the Light; that is Christ, in the presence of the Jews.  This parallels the creation of light on the first day in Genesis 1:3-5.  Here John the Baptist indicates that He is a prophet but not the Prophet, the Messiah, foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

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's baptism is one of repentance, the traditional call of the prophets to the people.  It was a preparation for the baptism of Christ to come.  My study bible remarks that John the Baptist is a figure of the Law in that, like the Law, he denounced sin but his baptism could not remit (literally "put away") sin.  Both John and the Law point to the One who can remit sin. 

If we speak about beginnings, what do we think about?  All things seem to have beginnings, save the One who is eternal, who was already in the beginning, as yesterday's passage taught us.  Here in today's reading, we are given the beginnings of Jesus' ministry, and as we can see, those beginnings start with John the Baptist, who is also called the Forerunner, for his place in Christ's ministry.  He will lead his own disciples to Christ, who will become the disciples or apostles of Jesus.  But as we can see, one factor here in this beginning of Jesus' ministry is that John the Baptist is quite aware of his place in it.  He states that "it is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  John the Baptist announces the news of the Messiah to the leaders who come from Jerusalem, and in the tradition of the Church, we know him as Forerunner also to the souls in Hades, before Christ's death, descent to those same souls of all who have passed before, and Resurrection.  What we take away from today's reading is part of the infinite creativity of the Holy Spirit.  We may regard with wonder how each one has his or her place, just as John the Baptist knows his place as the one who is "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Make straight the way of the LORD,' " the one prophesied by Isaiah.  As we will observe in the story of Jesus' ministry, there are those who truly fulfill God's word in a unique way, and they are in some sense complementary to the mission of Christ.  Each one has his or her role to play, and this is true of this observed beginning to which John testifies.  And then there are those who would usurp for themselves the place of God, not leaving room for this flowering of the Spirit and mission of the Messiah, who will be in conflict with Jesus' ministry, and already question John the Baptist as to what he is doing, due to the widespread attraction of his ministry among the people.  The Gospel so far has given us stories of beginnings, and perhaps we can also consider in our own lives how beginnings happen.  One thing seemingly unrelated to another may feed us our new beginning, God's word or work through others glimmers to us truths and meanings that serve to give us ministry and mission in our own lives.  As Jesus will say later on in John's Gospel, "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors" (4:38).  We all enter into the labor of those who have come before, and those who will come later will build upon our own, even those somehow at a tangent in relationship to ourselves.  New beginnings don't mean we necessarily have to invent the wheel:  to know our place in God's creation is to understand the complementary nature of God's diversity and the true ongoing creativity of the Holy Spirit.  Let us note that in the story of Christ, even those who somehow prefer darkness, who oppose this ministry, work together with all things to determine how the ministry goes.  We are reminded that through crucifixion, Jesus will trample down death by death.   When we pray for guidance, when we think about where we are, it is good to reflect upon this beginning of Christ's ministry, which starts here by the river where John baptizes, with one who proclaims himself to be beneath the role of servant to Christ (the One who "is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose").  The smallest start, nearly seemingly unrelated, can grow into the greatest mission, even with the faith of a mustard seed.  Let us consider today how many beginnings may be all around us, what may grow from things we don't quite yet understand, and how with grace all things work together (Romans 8:28).  As with this scene in the wilderness beyond the Jordan, we don't know how the infinite variety of the Spirit may lead us ahead, with what things great and small we claim, even daily, new beginnings.