24 When these messengers had gone back, Jesus began to talk to the crowd about John. "What did you go out to the desert to look at? Was it a reed waving in the breeze? 25 Well, what was it you went out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? But the men who wear fine clothes live luxuriously in palaces. 26 But what did you really go to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, a prophet and far more than a prophet! 27 This is the man of whom the scripture says,
27 'Behold I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.'
28 Believe me, no one greater than John has ever been born, and yet a humble member of the kingdom of God is greater than he." 29 All the people, yes, even the tax-collectors, when they heard John, acknowledged God and were baptized by his baptism. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the Law frustrated God's purpose for themselves, for they refused John's baptism.
I would suggest that Christianity today has no idea how important and pertinent these verses are. We've (the churches) have lost the Christ-center and don't even know it. Because we're filing religious lawsuits in court, or wave "Jesus Saves" banners at a riot, or defend ancient liturgical rites, doesn't mean we've got a Christ-center.
Scene setter: In the previous gospel sections, Jesus' disciples have told John they have seen Jesus heal the Centurian's slave healed and the Widow's son raised to life at Nain. They then went back to Jesus to make ask Jesus the questions posed by John, "Are you the one?" Jesus told them to go back yet again to tell John what he (Jesus) is doing and announcing. It sounds a little silly perhaps, all the back and forth, but okay. Jesus now addresses the remaining crowd. He begins by asking them three questions about going out into the desert. 24-25 "Did you go to see the reeds in the wind?" The desert is a harsh place where right minded person would never go to watch the wind. Jesus answers his own second question — rich people, all dressed up, don't live in deserts, but high end palaces. 25 Jesus must have in mind that among this crowd there were folks who had gone into the desert where we are told in another Gospel place, John was living. But John wore rags and ate bugs. Nothing soft or lavish about that.
Nor was John wasn't a weak-bending reed. Jesus knows they were looking for a prophet (one who reveals the mind of God) but they found John who (Jesus says) is greater than a prophet because he's the messenger, the advance man, we say — forerunner of Jesus, the Lord, the Messiah (the great king who is even greater than Kings David and Solomon.) In verse 28 — Jesus lifts John up high. But John is only the messenger of the one who greater still, and that's Jesus. So John, while lifted up to a high place, is also among the littlest, who still needs the truly great one — Jesus.
What does it mean for us? We live in times of unimaginable cultural popularity. We're constantly invited to join the cult. Cult thinking is irrational thinking. Sometimes the idea of popularity cult mixes in to religion, "I'm a JP II priest," "I'm a Benedict priest" we might hear among the younger clergy. One man on a TV spot says, "Every citizen should have a gun?" What?! That's cult thinking. Should we give guns now as Baptism day gifts, birthday gifts, graduation from elementary and high school gifts? So that by age 22 every citizen might have his/her own arsenal? Now, seemingly everything on social media is sold by sex. Turns out a strong man soaking in a floating bathtub is really an advertisement for cream cheese. The celebrity red carpet nights often cause me to think, "Why did you bother putting on clothes at all?"
But perhaps the worst of it is the political/religious cults. We fall into cults because we're looking for something. The "I'm a JPII or Benedict priest" is looking for what he thinks is the authentic religious/spiritual way. When Francis was elected Pope, one priest told his Sunday crowd, "We'll get through this together." That says a lot. And it's sad. Out of our vacuums we turn to figures who have wealth, who are high profile, who surround themselves with the indicators of success and power, who claim to know the truth. Mr, Trump announced his candidacy by descending from above riding a golden escalator. Like a Monty Python bible spoof. Jesus asks every generation, "What are you looking for? What are you going out to see?" We become cartoon Christians when we fail to see his gospel questions are for us.
Anti-mask, anti-climate crisis, anti-vaccine, anti-voting whatever, anti-science, anti-theory, anti-history. We clearly listen to lots of people who we believe have the answers to fill our vacuum. It's going bad. It's become violent, furiously angry, bitterly divisive, threatening, menacing, shockingly bad example for children. But it's always been this way (made worse by the speed of social media) — some get it — some don't. But Jesus celebrates that even the despised tax-collectors were hearing John's message to turn to heed the claims God makes on our thinking and doing. It is called God's justice. Some people are terrified of what God's justice and God's purposes would exact from them. Charity? Sure. God's justice (read the angry prophets) — no. Old Testament sexual morality? Yes (at least the bits that make sense to them). God's justice? No. It may mean we have to give up some privilege, power, influence, prestige, wealth.
Every Christian needs to do a personal self-check or questioning now and again to see if we haven't drifted into irrational thinking (or someone else's irrationality). Maybe the irrational one we listen to is a talking TV head or the podcast voice. Some have been corrupted by money. We can fool or trick ourselves, thinking we're living in the Lord's kingdom when really we're just bumping around following some personality or movement be it political, religious, media, sports, entertainment or favored channel. We find God-substitutes all the time and can even become rabid in defense of our drift. There are people who live outside God's kingdom. And not infrequently (like the tax-collectors) it's the littlest and most insignificant people who are more submitted to God's rule than those who wield the greatest appeal, influence, voting power and sway over people's minds and hearts. But self-knowledge and genuine docility (teachable-ness) are in short supply these days.
Our outside-the-Kingdom-cult-irrationality invades everywhere. I once favorably said the word Mexican in a sermon and a man walked out. Never mind they are the people to whom the Guadalupe revealed herself and left her image. I invited the Salvadoran parish lawn men to a Guadalupe Feast Day party and got insulting hate mail. I had a fellow block me in the church aisle once to tell me, 'I'm so sick and tired of hearing about the poor." But I'd venture as a white man of American abundance he had no clue what "the poor" even means. He'd already formed his truth that they are all lazy scammers. What made it all the more bizarre was that I'd said nothing about the poor in the homily. I invited him to investigate the text I used (still on the pulpit), but he declined and disappeared with his scary energy.
As great as John the Baptist is — Jesus and his new God-mind is greater. The people of least importance or belonging may well "get it" ahead of the rest. That's what these verses are about. It isn't easy if we're really hearing.
