Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Karl Heinz Peschke SVD – Vienna, Austria
Thursday 2nd Week of Advent
John the Baptist, more than a prophet, (Mt. 11,9), was the messenger sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. He was Elijah, who – according to the belief of the Jews – would return to herald the coming of the Messiah (Mal 4,5). Nonetheless, the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than John.
What was lacking with John? What do Christians have that John did not have? The fundamental answer is that John had never seen the cross. John never knew the full revelation of the love of God. The holiness of God he might have known. The justice of God he might have declared. But the love of God in all its fullness he had not known.
The message of John was a warning of the coming judgment. It was a call to conversion but it was not the good news of the gospel. It took Jesus to show people the depth and height of the love of God through his sacrifice on the cross for their salvation. The humblest Christian knows more about God than the greatest of the Old Testament prophets did.
With John the Baptist a new area had begun. The kingdom of God had taken roots through the gospel and life of Jesus. This kingdom, present in the salvific work of Jesus, enfolds its power and might of renewal whenever people exert efforts to strive for that kingdom and own it.
Christians are challenged to take part in this kingdom by listening to the words of Jesus, accepting them, believing in them and putting them into practice. Against the violence of its adversaries, the kingdom needs the power of devotion in the believers that match and defeat those adversaries and cling to the faith with unwavering loyalty.
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