A reading from the prophet Isaiah (61:1-2, 10-11)
The spirit of Lord God is on me
for the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
to soothe the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to captives,
release to those in prison,
to proclaim a year of the Lord’s favour.
I exult for joy in the Lord,
my soul rejoices in my God
for he has clothed me in garments of salvation,
he has wrapped me in a cloak of saving justice,
like a bridegroom wearing his garland,
like a bride adorned in her jewels.
For as the earth sends up its shoots
and a garden makes seeds flourish,
so the Lord God makes saving justice and praise
flourish in the sight of all nations.
This prophet is deeply aware of the gift of the spirit of the Lord, and that he has been anointed to bring ‘good news’, and to proclaim a year of jubilee, a year ‘of the Lord’s favour’. The message of comfort was first proclaimed in Isaiah 40 as the exiles were told of their release from Babylon and restoration to their land. It is not surprising that the words of this reading are found on the lips of Jesus when he visits the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4). The second half of the reading personifies the whole people, who ‘exult for joy in the Lord’, who has clothed them in ‘salvation’ (yesha‘) and ‘saving justice’ (tsedaqah). The work of the Lord in liberating his people is witnessed by ‘all nations’, and is compared to the earth ‘sending up shoots’ and a garden ‘making seeds flourish’.
Luke 1 The ‘responsorial psalm’ uses verses from the Magnificat, as Mary rejoices and proclaims the greatness of the Lord. It reflects the exultation of the people.
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians (5:16-24)
Always be joyful; pray constantly; in every situation give thanks; this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not stifle the Spirit or treat prophecy with contempt; test everything and hold fast to what is good, and shun every form of evil.
May the God of peace sanctify you fully; and may your spirit, life and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who has called you is trustworthy and will carry it out.
These words come towards the end of this earliest of Paul’s letters. The theme of joy (chairein) is maintained, for to be joyful is part of ‘the will of God in Christ Jesus’. A series of imperatives is put forward. Paul ends with a prayer to the ‘God of peace’ that the whole person, ‘spirit (pneuma), life (psyche) and body (soma)’, be ready for the coming (parousia) of the Lord. The God who calls is ‘trustworthy’ (pistos), and will fulfil the promise.
A reading from the holy gospel according to John (1:6-8, 19-28)
There was a man sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
to bear witness to the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
he was to bear witness to the light.
This is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He declared, he did not deny but declared, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ So they asked, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you? So that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ So he said, ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied:
A voice of one that cries in the desert:
prepare a way for the Lord.’
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees, and they put a question to him and said, ‘Why then are you baptising if you are not the Messiah nor Elijah nor the Prophet?’ John answered them, ‘I baptise with water; but among you is standing one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; and I am not worthy to undo the strap of his sandal.’ This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.
Two separate sections of the first chapter of John’s gospel are joined together here by the word ‘witness’ (marturia). The ‘man sent by God’ is John the Baptist, who was not the ‘light’ (phos), but a ‘witness’ for the light. The text then omits ten verses and tells how John bears ‘witness’ to the priests and Levites who came down from Jerusalem. John declares that he is not the Messiah, not Elijah and not the expected prophet. In words originating from Isaiah 40 and familiar from their use in the other gospels, he declares that he is ‘a voice’ (phone) which cries out. He offers a baptism of water, in readiness for ‘the one who is coming’. In putting together these verses from chapter one of John the lectionary provides a clear idea of the mission of the Baptist.
How far would you consider your own life to be bearing witness?
The one who bears witness may become the martyr who gives life away.