Dear Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ
 Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said. (John 1: 22-23)
Almost all of us know who Leonardo DaVinci is. You may or may not know that he only possessed three of his own paintings when he died, including this one of .... John the Baptist.
DaVinci's characterization of the prophet is hardly how many people would visualize him. John in this painting almost looks jovial rather than angry; playful instead of condemning. Nonetheless, his right index finger points toward the cross and heaven as evidence of his (and DaVinci's) faith in Jesus the Christ's salvation.
I along with DaVinci and the priests and Levites in the Gospel according to John wonder just exactly who John the Baptist is. He is not the Messiah. He may have been brutally brash or he may have been cleverly childish. I suppose it depends upon one's point of view. It's certainly important to consider that John the Baptist precedes the Lord's coming and it's his role to prepare the people around him for what lies ahead when Christ comes into the world.
John's witness got me to thinking: how do we respond if and when someone asks us "Who are you?" How do we see ourselves? How might others view us? Would your painting of yourself match how others might paint you? Our witness or representation of ourselves as Christians isn't only indicative of who we are as people. Our faith implies that we are engaged in a process to prepare The Way for other people to experience Jesus' pending birth anew. The preparations that we make may be prophetic. Perhaps they might be more playful in nature.
How would a master such as DaVinci paint you? Would your life, like John's, prompt a Renaissance Man to ensure that your image pointed toward Christ in one way or another. Would your endorsement of Jesus Christ as God incarnate demonstrate the ways in which your have repented (had a change of heart)? This is John the Baptist's message regardless of how we paint him. Advent is our time to get ready for Jesus in an overt way that brings other people closer to the manger and God's loving reconciliation that the world so needs these days. |
