Encountering God

“John the Baptist was there with his two disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by he said, behold the lamb of God.” (Jn. 1:35-36).

I find it striking how John the Baptist reached his conclusion. I mean he could have said anything recognizing Jesus, for example he could have said, “there is Jesus” or “there’s my cousin I was telling you about.” No, he chose those exact words to let everyone know that Jesus, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, has arrived. I imagine that John always knew that.

Recall, after the Blessed Mother received the message of the Archangel Gabriel that she was to bring the baby Jesus into the world, she left where she was and went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with baby John. And when the four met, Elizabeth reacted by saying, “at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy.” In that instance, before he could even walk or talk, John the Baptist had an encounter with God, feeling God’s presence. Then without words he reacted, leaping for joy in the presence of the Lord.

"In that instance, before he could even walk or talk, John the Baptist had an encounter with God, feeling God’s presence."

Fast forward some years, to another encounter, on the banks of the Jordan river where words finally caught up to the experience he had as a baby. And in that moment, God gave John the Baptist the perfect words to describe what he felt as he leapt for joy decades earlier, “behold the Lamb of God.”

Have you ever experienced a moment when you felt the undeniable presence of God? When I think of those moments, in my own life, often I find it hard to put them to words. I can remember things in vivid detail like how the sun was coming through the chapel window as I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament. Or how calm everything felt as the Eucharist was elevated at Mass during the consecration.

"And in that moment, God gave John the Baptist the perfect words to describe what he felt as he leapt for joy decades earlier, “behold the Lamb of God.”"

But it seems like whenever I try to explain exactly what the undeniable presence of God was like, words fall short, or I can’t come up with any at all. It would seem to me that when we experience moments of God’s presence, they can be so overwhelming all we can do is, well, experience it like John the Baptist did as an infant, letting those moments wash over us as a blessing, a reminder, a gift from God that words cannot describe.

Thanks be to God for John the Baptist who experienced God’s presence and was blessed to be able to put it into words, and at each Mass, as the Eucharist is elevated those same words echo through time to us, some 20 centuries later. “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

By Rev. Michael Chrisman, Director of Worship, Pastor, Shrine of St. Therese, Pueblo

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