Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Ignorance of Discipleship

2^nd Sunday OT, A                                                                                           January 15, 2023
Fr. Alexander Albert                                                              St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette

“I did not know him.” Twice John the Baptist says this. But, isn’t that a strange thing to say? After all, this is the same John who leapt in the womb when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, greeted John’s mother Elizabeth. John is Jesus’ cousin – why wouldn’t he know him?

There were a lot of people who “knew” Jesus. His whole hometown thought they knew Jesus, but they wind up trying to kill him when he begins to reveal himself fully. John probably did know something about Jesus on a natural level. But because he was humble, because he was aware of his own limitations in knowing the truth, he knew better than to think that was nothing else to know. Though he knew the messiah was coming, he knew better than to think he had the messiah all figured out. Though he knew Jesus, he knew better than to write him off.

And yet, without knowing all this, he set out on his mission of baptism. It was in and through this mission that he was able to recognize Jesus as the Christ – the Messiah. It was in and through his vocation that he was able to see the work of the Holy Spirit and so come to a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ.

That paradigm remains true for us. A major obstacle to the faith of many of us is that we all too often assume we know him. We grow up with bible stories, with catechism classes, with crucifixes, saint statues, and pictures of the Ten Commandments and assume that Jesus is old news, background details, just another part of our childhood and our culture. If you want to bore a room full of cradle Catholics, start talking about Jesus. There’s this part of our brains that tends to say, “oh yeah, I know this stuff already” and then switches off the interest. It’s one part pride, one part laziness, but it equals out to a listless faith and a dried up spiritual life. It’s why the lives of so many Catholics look just like the lives of non-believers. Both act like Jesus has nothing new to offer.

But that’s not true, of course! Either Jesus matters more than that, or we’re all wasting our time this afternoon/morning. So what’s the trick? What’s the best way to tap into really knowing Jesus Christ? Admit what you don’t know. Ask real questions. Proclaim him to others.

Admit how much you don’t know Jesus. Sure, you know things about him… you might even have a living relationship with him, but there is always more to know. This is true not just of Jesus, but of all human beings. At the core of every person is a mystery, a part of them not fully known even to themselves. In part, this is because we are all made in the image of God. If you spend time really talking with someone who has suffered bullying, slander, or social rejection, you’ll find out that one of the things which hurts most about that is the sense of being misunderstood, written off, overlooked.

With Jesus Christ, it’s even more, infinitely more because he is God. There are clear, bright lines of truth that help us frame the question – we know certain things definitely aren’t true about God. We know certain major truths about him… Still, it’s too easy to say “God is love,” and then put the lid back on that mental box and shelve it away. But what does that love say to me today? What does it look like in this or that context? These and more are questions that remain lively and important. Only an ongoing search and the conscious choice to remain open to more will enable us to live in way that proves Jesus matters.

Ask real questions. Memorizing facts about the faith is important. It is respectful to not always issue a challenge when being taught about the faith. But the human mind – and heart! – needs to ask questions, to pursue truth. One of the most popular reasons people give for not believing in God is “science.” Do you have any idea how ridiculous a reason that is? The sheer number of nuns, monks, priests, and devout lay people who are world-class scientists throughout history should be a big red flag that that’s not a good reason.

Then why do people use that reason? Because so many Christians were given answers to questions they never asked and they never learned to ask the questions they did have. Their 2^nd grade level understanding of faith was faced with 12^th grade level questions and arguments against God. They spend real time and energy learning the world’s way of thinking but never go deeper into faith than half-remembered grade-school catechism classes. Having never seen mature believers go through the journey of admitting their limited knowledge and seeking greater truth, they have no idea what that journey looks like. John the Baptist didn’t pretend to have all the answers all the time. He admits, “I did not know him!” This doesn’t undermine his teaching, but enhances it because he gives answers rooted in real questions and sincere seeking. The seeking should be respectful, it should be filled with some level of foundational trust… but it should be a real search and involve effort.

Finally, it is in proclaiming Christ… in sharing Jesus with others that we come to know him best. Part of who Jesus is is a missionary… his very identity includes being sent by the father. To understand that requires that we too are sent… we must proclaim him in order to more fully see him as he is. The Apostles were sent out by Jesus long before he even told them about the Eucharist or that he was the Messiah. It’s a mistake to think we have to know everything before you can start to speak of Jesus. If you know Jesus even a little and can admit that there’s more to know, if you can sincerely seek him, then you can find some of those answers in honestly sharing that journey with others.

John the Baptist was told, “on whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” We’re not looking for the literal Messiah in the same way, but this teaches us to pay attention to the work of the Holy Spirit. That subtle prompting to ask a question, the sudden realization of virtue or sincerity in a non-believing friend, a striking insight from an outsider. This is often the Holy Spirit preparing the ground for the seed of the Gospel. It is also one of the ways you come to know Christ more deeply, seeing him in a new light. Seeing Christ through the eyes of another can show you something more about the savior you thought you knew. There are boundaries and limits – dogma is a real and important safeguard of the truth – but it does not exhaust who Christ is and it doesn’t replace genuine, searching faith and proclamation.

In our psalm we pray, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” What is the Lord’s will? That we know and believe in Jesus Christ. For us to admit, “I did not know him” is not shameful. It puts us in great company and sets us on the path to knowing him better. Admit these limits, really seek out the truth with faith, and proclaim Christ to others. The more we do, the more we will know Christ, and the more God’s will – his plan for our eternal joy – will be fulfilled in us and reach even “to the ends of the earth.”