There are two secret donkeys in St. Agnes Church. Don’t worry. I am not referring to any parishioners! Three weeks ago, I preached about Jesus’ spirit animal and told you that there are four animals in the permanent artwork of this church: the sheep with St. Agnes and the dove, and the eagle on the standard of the Roman soldiers on the stations of the cross. Did you find the fourth? I would be surprised if you did, as I said they are secret donkeys. I will show you where they are and I will ask Will to show an image of the artwork for those of you streaming at home.
These animals are in the Nativity scene behind the high altar on what’s called the “apse.” The stable here is presented as a cave and the Christ-child is lying in his manager at its mouth. In the shadow of the cave there are the heads of two donkeys both who are as close as possible to the Christ-child—closer even than Mary and Joseph. Christ’s hand nearly touches the nose of them both. These donkeys are in a double shadow—first the shadow of the cave. Second, the shadow of this marble column on the high altar.
In my interpretation of this artwork and its placement in the church, the secret donkeys don’t want to be noticed for themselves. If you do notice them, you will see that their eyes are fixed on Jesus, whom they immediately recognized. They want the viewer to focus on Christ, too. Finally, they wish to be as close as possible to him.
These secret donkeys bear much in common with John the Baptist, the man at the center of our Gospel reading today. In the Fourth Gospel, the evangelist John never actually calls him “John the Baptist.” Instead he is John the Witness. Or John the Testifier. He is the first person who recognizes who Jesus is, “the true light shining the darkness. The Word of God who was with God the Father at the beginning.”
When he first sees Jesus walking toward him he immediately points him out and says, “Behold!” or in some translations, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
John the Testifier is then challenged by a delegation from the Jewish political and religious authorities to explain why he is preaching and baptizing in the wilderness. What is striking about John’s response is his repeated response, “I am NOT…”. I am not Elijah the prophet. I am not the great prophet who is to come. I am not the Messiah, the Christ of God.
This is striking because we know from the Gospel of John that Jesus is the great ‘I AM’ who proclaims “I am the Bread of Life; I am the Good Shepherd; I am the resurrection and the life; I am the way, the truth, and the life.” And this “I AM” is also one of the most important titles of God the Father.
When finally pressed to say something positive about himself, he quotes the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the LORD.’” He tells the authorities that Jesus is with them right now: Among you stands one whom you do not know.
John the Testifier is a herald who is sent to proclaim the Good News. In this way, he is a kind of unofficial patron saint of deacons. As a deacon, I get to play a formal role of herald by carrying the Book of the Gospels proclaiming the Gospel every Sunday. But every baptized person has a similar role of herald and witness to play. By our baptism, each of us is also a herald of the Gospel, a proclaimer of the Good News. Each of us is a witness at the table of the Lord.
This can be a difficult role to play. Religion is one of the four things Americans don’t talk about in polite conversation along with politics, sex, and money. It is difficult to be a herald and a witness without breaking this social taboo.
Yet this is what we are commanded to do. We need to make an effort at least not to hide our faith. Fr. Shane Duvall earlier this year said when he visits the houses of parishioners that he looks to see if they have crucifixes on the walls of each room. That is a visible way to symbolically and actually witness to our faith. Do you pray before meals in your own home? What about at a restaurant?
We are also heralds of the Gospel when we work for justice. A group of Catholics has been downtown all summer, fall, and winter protesting for justice for Breonna Taylor and everyone else affected by systemic racism--demanding institutional change in our city. They are motivated not just by a kind of secular civic concern, but by faith in Christ.
These are all the works of a herald. Yet we should remember that this is a limited role. John the Testifier called himself the friend of the bridegroom, not the groom himself. And that he must diminish and decrease in order that Jesus might increase. Fr. Jim Martin wrote that there is Good News and Better News. The Good News is that the Messiah has come. The Better News is that we are not Him.
Our two secret donkeys give a challenge to all of us baptized Christians. Like them, are our eyes fixed on Jesus? If someone looked at our face, would it be pointed at the Christ-child? Would they also be drawn to him? Do we seek to be as close to Christ as we can? Does our life give witness to the true light that has come into the world? Do we also proclaim, “Behold the Lamb of God. Behold him who takes away the sins of the world” ?
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