Witness John Epiphany 2A

 

The Witness

This is not the same John we see in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. The figure in chapter 1 of the Fourth Gospel is not presented as an Elijah figure. He is not a forerunner preparing the way for Jesus. For heaven’s sake, twice he says, “I myself did not know him!” The narrator tells us that this John who baptizes and purifies with water is primatily a witness. That is, he testifies to what he has seen. And what he has seen of the Word who becomes flesh and blood and moves into the neighborhood paints a distinctive understanding of who Jesus is, why he comes to live among us, and what this means for us. [John 1:29-42]

 

There are three parts to the testimony of John. 1) ““Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” 2) “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” 3) “I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” Lamb+Spirit= Son of God. Who comes, says John, to take away “the sin of the world.” Singular, “sin,” not plural, “sins”

 

This begs the question: What is the “sin of the world”? The late Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple in his Readings in St. John’s Gospel spells it out thusly: “For there is only one sin and it is characteristic of the whole world. It is the self-will which prefers “my way” to Gods – which puts “me” in the centre where only God is in place. It pervades the universe. It accounts for the cruelty of the jungle, where each animal follows its own appetite, unheeding and unable to heed any general good. It becomes conscious, thereby tenfold more virulent, in man – a veritable Fall indeed. And no individual is responsible for it. It is an “infection of nature…it sets us at enmity against God; it is the ‘sin of the world.’” [p.24] This sin is corporate, not individual.

 

What more does John’s testimony tell us about Jesus the Word made flesh? It is kind of surprising. One needs to know that lambs were not sacrificed in the Temple for the forgiveness of  sins, plural, one may have committed. A bull, a goat, or a sheep may be offered, but not a lamb. A lamb is set aside to be prepared for the Passover meal on the Day of Preparation, that is, the day before Passover. And this Passover, or Paschal, Lamb is not a sacrifice for sins, but rather a symbol. Perhaps, THE symbol of the Jewish faith: the lamb is prepared for the family meal to commemorate Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. It is not a sacrifice for sins at all. As the Passover Lamb, therefore, Jesus has been sent to liberate the world from slavery to “sin,” singular. To liberate us from our self-will, or self-centeredness, which makes us unable to serve the general or common good of all human kind. As the Lamb of God, Jesus has been sent to bring the world into new and fresh contact with the presence of God so that human alienation from God and one another, can end. So that we might serve God’s will, and serve the common good of all persons, all creatures, and creation itself.

 

John further testifies that he knows Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world because John witnessed the pneuma, the breath, wind, or Spirit of God, descend from heaven like a dove and remain on Jesus. The verb tense is perfect, signaling that this is not a one- time event or moment in time, but rather a continuous state – the Spirit-Breath remains with the Lamb of God, and animates his every intervention to repair the world of its sin; to repair the world of its alienation from God and from one another. To return the world right-side up again so that we all might serve the common good rather than just looking out for ourselves.

 

This breath, like the Word, was with God in the beginning. The breath blew across the face of chaotic and troubled waters, calming and ordering creation as a place of Light and Life. God breathed life into Adam, the first man. It is God’s pneuma, ruach, or breath that gives us life; which animates us; inspires us; makes us whole. This breath, this pneuma, is central to the Fourth Gospel’s telling of the tale. It is on the cross, when Jesus breathes his last breath that we are told, “He handed over his Spirit.” He handed over God’s Spirit-Breath so that we might be animated by the same will of God for the common good of all humankind.

 

It is important that we understand this handing over of the Sprit-Breath of Christ. It is believed that the longtime unspoken name of the God of the Bible is Yahweh. Richard Rohr in his book, The Naked Now, reports that formally, God’s name was not spoken, but breathed. Many believe today that its correct pronunciation “is an attempt to imitate the very sound of inhalation and exhalation.” This is the one thing we all do, every moment of every day. Therefore, we are speaking the Holy Name of God with every breath we take as long as we live. What if we were mindful of this? Rohr also suggests that God’s name is the first word we speak when we enter this world, and the last word we speak when we leave this world.

 

The more one is mindful of this, we begin to realize that there is no Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, or any other way of breathing. There is no American, African, European, or Asian way of breathing. There is no rich or poor way of breathing. Understanding the nature of the Spirit-Breath of God utterly levels the playing field. The air of the world is one and the same air, and this divine “wind” blows where it will [John 3:8]. Which appears to be everywhere. Eventually, we come to understand that no one religion, no one people, can control this Spirit.

 

As the dove of the Spirit lands upon and remains with Jesus, and from the cross is then handed over to us, God is suddenly as available and accessible as the very thing we do all day long – breathe. The first thing Jesus does when he rises and returns from the dead is to breathe the Spirit-Breath upon the disciples gathered in the upper room. Many of those who teach prayer urge us to “stay with the breath.” The same breath that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils; that Jesus hands over to us; that Jesus breathers on us as His Shalom, his forgiveness, mercy, and love for the common good of all humankind. Isn’t it wonderful and mysterious that this breath, wind, spirit, and air, are precisely nothing – and yet, everything!

 

Keep breathing in this way. Breathe mindfully, and we will come to know that we are connected to all humanity from the earliest cavemen and women, to astronauts, to the entire animal world, and even to the trees, plants, and flowers. And we now are told that the atoms we breathe are physically the same as the stardust from the original Big Bang! Our Oneness with all creation and the entire universe, therefore, is no longer a vague mystical notion, but a scientific fact.

 

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the World! Behold the Holy Spirit-Breath that rests upon him and remains with him. See how he hands over his Spirit-Breath to us all, inviting us to serve the common good of all people, all creatures, and all creation itself. May we breathe intentionally to allow the Spirit-Breath move us past all of our self-interest and self-centeredness to understand our ultimate connection and Oneness with all creation. To serve God and serve Others is the only way in which we can truly serve our own best interests. Amen.