“Among you stands one you do not know.

Those were John the Baptist’s words as recorded in John 1:26. Of course, at that time it was literally true that a quiet carpenter’s son from the backwaters of the Roman Empire was rubbing shoulders with lots of people—including the crowds that jostled together at the banks of the Jordan River—but no one had a clue that this unimpressive-looking man was The One, The Word of God, The Logos by whom all things were created, and now made flesh. Sometimes I think that Jesus had a big halo, or a big spotlight on him, or a green arrow pointing down saying “Here is the Messiah.” There wasn’t.”

Lectionary Readings
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8,19-28