wrestling with st. john the baptist...

On June 24th the Western Christian Church celebrates the birthday of St. John the

Baptist. This is the only other birthday included in the liturgical calendar: the nativity of Jesus on December 25th and six months later, in the middle of the year, the birth of the Baptist. I love wrestling with the promise and problems presented by John the Baptizer: his role as a prophet is stark and demanding, his challenge to the ripening alternative spirituality of Jesus is insightful, and his testimony through the Scriptures is paradoxical. Throughout my adult life I have carried on what might be called a lover's quarrel with John. There have been times when I identified with his unflinching cal for social justice. And, there have been times when his way became repugnant to me, too. I have always taken him seriously, but find that my heart is somewhat schizophrenic theologically when it comes to what he means for me and the church.

So, this Sunday on my Face Book live streaming reflection I will share with you where I am with my quest for honoring St. John the Baptist. The writer, Kelly Chirpczuk, articulated this truth about John on her blog, This Contemplative Life - and it rings true.

He didn’t see it, but felt it
through the darkness
of his mother’s womb,
the flame that baptized
drawn close enough
to singe his foot,
which caused him to leap.

The wild fire caught
and grew, ruining him
for a life of conformity.
So he moved to the wilderness
somewhere near the river’s edge
where others were drawn
by the smoldering flame.
He doused them each with water,
warning them one-by-one
of the fire to come.

Later, when he leapt
from this world to the next,
leaving his head behind,
he was greeted by the fellowship
of the flame – Isaiah
with his charred black lips,
Miriam who danced
like a flickering wick,
and the others, too many now to name
together they glowed like
so many embers,
lighting the long, dark night.

http://www.thiscontemplativelife.org/2014/06/john-baptist-poem.html

A lengthy poem by John Shea, "John the Baptist," includes these lines that are equally true.

I can denounce a king, but I cannot enthrone one.

I can strip an idol of its power, but I cannot reveal the true God.
I can wash the soul in sand, but I cannot dress it in white.
I can devour the word of the Lord like wild honey, but I cannot lace his sandal.
I can condemn sin, but I cannot bear it away.
Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

https://jasongoroncy.com/category/john-the-baptist/

 

John is so rich - and complicated. His feast day in the Southwest roughly coincides with the start of the summer rainy season. He was Christ's mentor in the early days of a desert spirituality - not unlike the wild or green man of archetypal wisdom - as well as his foil while in prison. I hope you will join me: Sunday, June 21 @ 9:55 am.

credits: 1) http://iconstudio.jordanville.org/st-john-the-baptist-2/

2) https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/childs-inner-eye-contemporary-icons-maxim-sheshukov/

3) http://nikoskypraios.com/index.php/paintings/saints/