The Witness of John the Baptist
John 1:19-28
And 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.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)  They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Joy
by Andrew Q. Holzschuch

My freedom is coming
beneath the grunting and struggling fumbling through day's spent
viewed through pain's tint
good people repent
because freedom is coming
from the wilderness a voice screaming
the tears streaming and running down my face
streams of Divine grace
Oh people freedom is coming
a babe in the lowliest place
whose sandal I am not worthy to lace
don't lose faith cause I can see that the face of
Jesus is coming
the hands of Jesus are touching and healing me
unpeeling me to my inner-self to reveal the realest me
I can feel the heat like an oven
I can feel it deep in my stomach
I can see the flags streaming from trumpets
as angel choirs sing from the summits
of heavenly heights
and the blind will be blessed with their sight
dispelling darkness with the perfection of light
that's right my freedom is coming
all the pieces are coming together
the Alpha
and Omega
combined in forever
a warmth piercing the cold weather
a yolk light as a feather
not a shred of doubt
all of heaven and nature shout that
Jesus is coming
Jesus is here
close your eyes
Believe
He's near

THE HUMBLE PROPHET
When we think of prophets, the first image that comes to mind might be a dramatic one. A man animated by passion for his message, speaking loudly and shaking his fist for emphasis. His disheveled and wild hair is a sign that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him, even as he draws attention to himself.

However, what strikes me from this passage about the prophet John (whom Jesus elsewhere calls “the greatest among those born of women”) is his humility. It’s almost comical how little John wants to talk about himself. He simply says “no” to each of the priests’ guesses about who he is until he takes pity on them and tells them not what he says about himself, but what another prophet, Isaiah, said about him. John’s interest lies entirely in drawing attention to Christ, the one who will even more humbly save the world.

In the video by Andrew Q. Holzschuch, we get an inspiring contemporary image of John. The wilderness of the dancer is not the desert but the underpass of an urban train. Though she looks quite alone, she seems to dance with the light that plays on her face. Throughout the video, we see several images half in light and half in darkness: the tall mountains with one side shaded and the flowers that bloom, illuminated from their centers. She calls us to the light – at the end, she seems to have physically grasped it. Her quiet grace transmits hope.

The words of Holzschuch’s poem along with the images of the dancer announce, “Freedom is coming.” This freedom is both a personal freedom (“my freedom”) and a collective one (“oh people freedom is coming”). When the speaker says this, he tells himself as much as he tells us, knowing that he, the prophet, needs this freedom as much as we do. This freedom comes from “a babe in the lowliest place.” His words invite us to see the unseen. Christ comes in humility, in the midst of pain, and is seen by the humble that suffer and willingly suffer with others. We need to listen closely so that we don’t miss him, our great hope. Loud voices will call us but our call is to announce Christ to the world, with deep humility.

Prayer
Lord,
as we begin this new year,
may we learn from your servant John
and humbly but fearlessly reflect you
in word and in deed.
May we speak truth to power
and hope to the hopeless
because of who we know you to be.
Teach us to see all things rightly
and find you where we least expect you
so we can share you where you are most needed.
Amen.

Monica Cure
Assistant Professor
Torrey Honors Institute