Be Guided by the Holy Spirit

Gospel Reflection for Jan 2, 2024

Gospel

John 1:19-28

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ.

21 And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No. 22 They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias. 24 And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?

26 John answered them, saying: I baptize with water; but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. 27 The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. 28 These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

It is important to remember that with have both the Bible and Holy Tradition given to us through the Catholic Church that our Lord founded upon Saint Peter. The Apostles of Christ who were the first leaders of this Church wrote, or dictated, the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. Through the infallible authority given to them by Jesus, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the early Church sorted through the many documents of Judaism and decided which ones were the divinely inspired Word of God. They then organized these into the books of the Old Testament. Due in large part to the translation work of Saint Jerome, the Catholic Church compiled the Old Testament, wrote the New Testament and published the Bible. The Church teaches that the Old Testament foreshadows the New, and that the New Testament explains the Old.

It can be difficult for modern Christians to understand how it was that the educated and religious Jews in the time of Christ could neither recognize Him as the Christ nor Saint John the Baptist as the one who was prophesied to prepare the way for the Messiah. But, we have to remember that we have the whole story as written in the Bible. We also have the unbroken succession of Catholic teaching dating back almost 2,000 years to the Apostles of Christ, who learned from Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary – the Blessed Mother was “Mother of the Church” and was key to helping guide the Holy Apostles having been the closest person to our Lord.

When Jesus was with His disciples, in His earthly life, it is clear that they seldom understood His teaching. Even though he spoke to the Jews in parables, but explained plainly to His disciples His meaning, they could not understand. No more clear was this than when He repeatedly stated that they must eat His body and Drink His blood in the Eucharist to have everlasting life. Indeed, prior to that point He had thousands of Jewish followers who believed He was the Messiah. So strong and plain were His words that nearly all turned away, believing Him to be a madman. It is believed that it was at this point that Judas lost faith and turned against Him. Even Saint Peter confesses that he cannot understand the teaching, but realized that he and the other apostles had no choice but to continue to follow the Christ, believing in Him even though they could not understand.

We must remember that the words of Jesus were shocking and very much in opposition to the Judaism of the time in many regards. As Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen explained, many today merely think of our Lord as a very good man. But, if He was merely a man, He was not a good man at all… He was a blasphemer, a cult leader and a lunatic who lead millions of people astray. If Jesus claimed to be God incarnate, but was not, He was the most evil man ever lived. Only God could say, teach and do what Jesus did and be good.

When Saint Peter confesses His belief that Jesus is the Son of God, Our Lord answers in a peculiar way. He says that flesh and blood, or mere human understanding could not allow him to know that. Only God could reveal to man what is beyond human understanding. This remained true through the crucifixion and death of our Lord, and even after the resurrection. Only when our Lord gave to His Apostles the gift of the Holy Spirit could they say to the world that Jesus is God, and the world believe. They were said to have set the world on fire with this message!

Only through the Holy Spirit may a mere man understand the Word of God. Just as we may wonder why the ancient Jews could not see the divinity of Christ, we wonder now why so many in our time are so very opposed to Christ and His Church. Through the sacraments of the Catholic Church, we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Remember, “If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made us: eternal life. I write you these things about those who would deceive you. As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him. And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming.”

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Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January-June, 2024. It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q

and

Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK

His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic