1. MAIN POINT. I think the main point -- as mentioned elsewhere and before -- is John the Baptist is a witness to Christ and acknowledges Christ as one greater than he is. Likely the disciples of John and Jesus commingled and prayed together. Likely Jesus was originally a John follower. Somewhere along the line the question of whose they all were came up and this is a rhetorical move for the Jesus People over an against the John folks.
2. NEW LIGHT. I'm not sure about new light. Passages like this are so familiar its hard to read it again as for the first time. I do know the phrase here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! stands out for me here and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe there is something here I need to meditate upon.
3. TRUTH. I am comfortable with categories like sin and reconciliation. So this passage is true to my understanding of faith. True to my experience? Hmm. C'est difficile. John points his finger towards Jesus. Jesus reveals God. It seems the path of the prophets is to empty oneself. I can do that -- but my ego keeps clawing it back again.
4. IMPLICATIONS. I think I will carry the notion of the Lamb of God around with me today and see where my meditations take me.
5. PROBLEMS Problems in application not in acceptance. Maybe also problems that this honoured passage from Christian tradition has its roots in a perhaps bitter conflict within a faith community -- and rather than witnessing to the reconciled position, only witnesses to the one side.
5 comments:
I very much appreciate your comments on the lesson, David; it pretty fully affirms my own feeling about it.
Re "Problems" I begin with the assumption that John, and in fact the whole Bible, is the work of flawed men like me and you. The flaws inevitably enter into their work, as does mine and yours.
We had an old archeology professor in seminary, who believed that the world began in 4004 BC.--a romantic to the nth degree. In a moment of bitter truth he said to us in his quavering voice: "Brothers, I know the Lord can use a crooked stick; he used me."
Sitting on the back row in my usual sardonic mood I silently echoed, "Brother, you never said a truer word."
The line which you mentioned standing out for you did so for me too. I think that's partly because it sounds so familiar from hearing the Mass ... the Agnus Dei.
Follow Up to my Meditation Agenda:
I didn't. Life got in the way. I will have some space tomorrow to hold this passage in waiting worship -- then maybe I can carry out the plan to reflect through the day on it.
A part of my troubles is that I'm in training for anew job so the new learnings occupy a lot of the grey matter.
why can't taking away the sins of the world mean simply that Jesus, being the Light, is what is able to take us out of ourselves/our ego? Why can't our ego be the sin that is being cast out?
I have no problem with the idea of sin, I find it quite useful. Sin is what is keeping me from being all I can be -- patient, loving, kind. That would make impatience, hatred and cruelty sins -- that sounds about right to me.
I have posted some thoughts on my kwakersaur blog on using the agnes dei in meditation. Not quite waht beppe was looking for. But a start.
kwakersaur
Post a Comment