During Advent Season, we prepare ourselves for the initial theophany, the first revelation of the invisible God being visible and tangible in the newborn infant Jesus. Throughout Christmastide, from the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord to the Feast of Epiphany and to the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we witness and reflect series of theophanies, more revelations of God in the human flesh of Jesus.
The series of theophanic revelations first occurred to
Mary and Joseph, then to shepherds, on the day of the Nativity of the Lord
(Luke 2:1-20). Then, God in the incarnated Christ was revealed to Simeon and
Anna at the Temple on the day of the Presentation of the Lord (Luke 2:25-3).
Furthermore, God also revealed Himself in infant Jesus even to Gentiles, first,
through the star rising above Israel, guiding the magi from east to where the
incarnated Christ was manifesting in Epiphany (Matthew 2:1-12).
Afterward, the incarnated Christ in Jesus migrated to
Egypt with Mary and Joseph because Herod the Great was hunting to kill him
(Matthew 2:13-18). But, after Herod’s death, the incarnated Christ, with Mary
and Joseph, safely moved to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23). There, being raised by
Mary and Joseph, he grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the grace
of God upon him (Luke 2:40, 52). Then, when he was about age 30, God revealed
Himself in the incarnated Christ, Jesus, in public, as he came to John the
Baptist to be baptized and to begin his ministry, marked also with the presence
of the Father, who spoke from heaven and the Holy Spirit, who descended upon
Christ the Son to anoint him (Luke 2:21-23//Matthew 3:13-17//Mark 1:9-11).
Following his Baptism, being anointed and filled with
the Holy Spirit, the incarnated Christ, Jesus, spent 40 days and night in the
Judean wilderness and fend off temptations by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11//Mark
1:12-13//Luke 4:1-13). Afterward, he began his public ministry, which
culminated into his death on the Cross (Matthew 4:12-27:54; Mark 1:14-15:39;
Luke 4:14-23:49; John 1:35-19:37).
Now, a theme of the scripture readings of the Second
Sunday in Ordinary Time (1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19; 1 Corinthians
6:13-15, 17-20; John 1:35-42) is about the manifesting God calling us – in His
revelation in the clear voice calling Samuel in the First Reading (1 Samuel 3,
3b-10. 19), and in His physical revelation in the incarnated Christ in the
human flesh of Jesus calling the first batch of disciples in the Gospel Reading
(John 1:35-42).
Following John the Baptist’s testimony to himself in
his relation to Christ, in response to the inquisition by priests and Levites
from Jerusalem (John 1:19-2), John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Christ,
whose appearance that he had been prepared for. As Jesus was coming toward him,
John the Baptist said:
Behold
, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I
said, “A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before
me”. I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was
that he might be made known to Israel. I saw the Spirit come down like a dove
from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one sent me to
baptize with water told me, “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and
remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit”. Now I have seen
and testified that he is the Son of God (John 1:29-34).
John the Baptist must have known Jesus as his cousin
well. And he even leaped for joy when he was still in his other’s womb, in
response to Jesus in Mary’s womb, as Mary came to visit Elizabeth, the mother
of John (Luke 1: 41, 44). But John the Baptist was very careful about
recognizing and identifying Jesus as the one whose coming that he had been
preparing as the voice crying in the wilderness (John 1:23; Isaiah 40:3) for
saying, “I did not know him”.
Having witnessed the Holy Spirit from heaven
descending on Jesus, upon his Baptism, John the Baptist as assured that Jesus,
indeed was the Christ, the Son of God, because it was what the Father told
John.
On the following day, John the Baptist was, again with
two of his disciples, and Jesus was passing by (John 1:35), so he said:
Behold,
the Lamb of God (John 1:36).
Then, these two disciples of John the Baptist began to
follow Jesus, Jesus turned back and asked them:
What
are you looking for?(John 1:38a)
And they said:
Rabbi,
where are you staying? (John 1:38b)
Why did the two men ask this question to Jesus? Were
they simply curious about where Jesus was staying in the town?
Probably not, because there seemed to have a deeper
meaning in this question.
In the original Greek text, it is written:
Διδάσκαλε ποῦ μένεις (Didaskale
pou meneis)? – Teacher (Rabbi), where
are you staying?
The word, μένεις/meneis, is third-person
singular present active indicative of the verb, μένω/meno, which means not
only “to stay” but also “to abide” and “to remain”, as well as, “to endure”. This verb is also used in:
Do not work for food that perishes but for
the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give
you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal
(John 6:27).
If you remain in my word, you will
truly be my disciples (John 8:31).
I am in the Father and the Father
is in me (John 14:10).
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so
neither can you unless you remain in me
(John 15:4).
*underlines mine
Given this, these two men were asking Jesus where they
would be able to fine him consistently. This indicates that they have a vested
interest in Jesus, not just being inquisitive of him.
And Jesus relied:
Come,
and you will see (John 1:39).
So they followed and stayed with him, as it was almost sabbath (four in the afternoon).
What is important here (John 1:39) is that they stayed
with Jesus where he stayed, spending sabbath together. Though what Jesus and
these two disciples of John the Baptist did during the sabbath is not written in
the scripture, you can imagine that they spent intimate time as they began to
know each other, recollecting how God created everything and rested after His
work of Creation.
One of these two disciples of John the Baptist who
followed and stayed with Jesus was Andre, whose brother was Simon (Peter) (John
1:40). And Andrew told his brother, Simon:
We have found the Messiah
(John 1:41).
“Messiah” means “anointed
one”. And its Greek equivalent is Christ.
Having heard from his former master, John the Baptist,
and actually having spent sabbath together with Jesus, Andrew knew enough about
Jesus that he was, indeed, the Christ (Messiah). So, he wanted to make sure
that his brother, Simon (Peter) also knew him, and brought him to Jesus (John
1:42a).
Then, Jesus said to Simon (Peter):
You are Simon the son of John; you will be
called Cephas (John 1:42b).
“Cephas” is the Aramaic
word, corresponding to the Greek word, “Peter”( Πέτρος/Petros),
referring to a rock. But it is more like a smooth pebble stone (πέτρος/petros),
rather than a huge rock (πέτρᾳ/petra).
As the incarnated Christ in Jesus made revelation to
Peter, after having appearing to John the Baptist, and his disciples, including
Adrew, Jesus changed the name of Simon to “Cephas” (Peter).
This signifies that Simon’s encounter with Christ marks
the transformation of Simon into a new person, called “Cephas”, Peter, as in
the case of Abraham, whose name was changed by God, from Abram, which means “exalted
father” to Abraham, which means “father of many”, (Genesis 17:5).
Just as he had known about Nathaniel, even before
meeting him (John 1:48), Jesus already knew who Simon was, identifying him as
the “son of John”. And it also revealed that Jesus, is the Son of God, whom
John the Baptist (John 1:34) and Nathaniel (John 1:49) called so.
At the time of the Annunciation, the invisible God,
the Word, was incarnated by the power of the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb (John 1:1,
14; Luke 1:30-33, 35). And this incarnated Christ was made visible as Mary gave
birth to the incarnated Christ in the human flesh (Luke 2:7; cf. Colossians
1:15), of Jesus (Luke 1:31; 2:21). The incarnated Christ made theophanic
revelations at the Nativity, the Presentation, the Epiphany, and the Baptism.
And John the Baptist gave testimony and clearly identified Jesus as the Christ
(Messiah), calling him the Lamb of God, as well as, the Son of God.
If you had heard this from John the Baptist and saw
Jesus walking by, what would you do?
Would you let him pass by? Or, as Andrew and another disciple of John the
Baptist did, would you follow him and ask him where he stays or where you can
find him? And as you stay with him and get to know him, would you keep your encounter
with him to yourself or would you rather share this with your friend or family
so that you can introduce Jesus to them?
Now we are in Ordinary Time. It means that God makes
His theophanic revelation fully in the incarnated Christ the Son. He is no longer
invisible and hidden. And he is coming to you or may already be passing by you.
As St. Augustine wrote (Sermons, 88, 14, 13), “Timeo
Iesum transeuntem” (I fear that Jesus will pass by me unnoticed), we want
to make sure that we recognize Jesus as he comes and passes by us, so that we
can follow him and stay with him continuously. And he may say to us, “Come,
and you will see”(John 1:39). Then, what will see?
In the First Reading (1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19), we see
God manifesting in His voice to Samuel. Unlike He manifested in whispering
voice to Elijah in the cave (1 Kings 19:9-19), God spoke in a more audible
voice to Samuel three times, loudly and. But, Samuel did not recognize that the
voice that was calling him was of the Lord (Yahweh). He thought Eli, the priest
in the Temple, was calling him. So, readily responding, “Here I am” and
promptly went over to him, ready to serve, though it was very late in the
night.
Though he mistakenly thought that the calling voice was
from Eli, Samuel did not let the voice go unnoticed by him. And Samuel did not
recognize that the calling voice was from God because the Word of the Lord had
not yet been revealed to him (1 Samuel 3:7). But, when the voice came to Samuel
for the third time, as he ran to Eli. This time, Eli understood that the Lord
was actually the one who has been calling Samuel, so he told Samuel:
If you are called, reply, “Speak, Lord,
for your servant is listening”(1 Samuel 3:9).
Then, for the fourth time, the Lord did not just spoke
but appeared to Samuel sand said:
Samuel, Samuel! Samuel!
(1 Samuel 3:10a).
And Samuel immediately replied directly to the Lord,
as instructed by Eli:
Speak, for your servant is listening
(1 Samuel 3:10b).
Then, the Lord told Samuel of His intention to bring
judgement against the house of Eli for his sons’ blasphemy (1 Samuel 3:11-15).
Though he was afraid to tell this to Eli, Samuel told everything when Eli asked
him to tell him what the Lord said to him, without holding anything back (1 Samuel
3:16-18a). And Eli understood the Lord’s intention against his house (1 Samuel
3:1b).
Upon this, Samuel grew up to serve the Lord, who was
with him, and His word never went unfulfilled as spoke by him (1 Samuel 19).
To Samuel, the Lord manifested Himself gradually, for
the first three times, only in His calling voice, but for the fourth time, in
His appearance and voice. Though Samuel was sleeping when God manifested to
him, he wake up in no time and readily responded, “Here I am”. And when he was called for the fourth time,
Samuel immediately responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening”.
What about you?
When Christ manifests, calling you, will you respond immediately, saying,
“Here I am. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!”? Or, you may respond,
as says in the Responsorial Psalm’s refrain, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do
your will”(Psalm 42:8a, 9a).
Now, the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a,
17-20) describes how the incarnated Christ, who is now making his theophanic
manifestation, can impact us. And it reminds us that our bodies are made into
the temple of the Holy Spirit, as we are purchased by the incarnated Christ,
for his death and resurrection. Therefore, we are no longer on our own but of
Christ. It means that we are at his service to do the will of God, ready to be
called and serve, with abiding interest.
Recognizing Christ in his theophanic manifestation, we say:
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will! Speak, for your servant is listening!
And now, our lives begin to be transformed and our new journey with him begin.
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