Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck
A reflection on the Gospel of John 1:29-34
Dear friends in Christ,
I want to begin this morning with a story that might sound familiar. Erin had always heard about Jesus. Growing up, she sat through Sunday school, recited prayers, and watched her grandmother light candles at church. It was all familiar, like the hum of a refrigerator—always there, easily ignored. Faith, for Erin, was something for the old or the desperate, not for someone with a job, friends, and plans for the weekend.
But life has a way of shaking our assumptions. In Erin’s last year of college, her parents split up. Her best friend drifted away. She felt like she was watching her life from the outside, unable to get back in. One night, overwhelmed and sleepless, she wandered outside, the air sharp with the promise of rain. She stared at the sky and, with nothing left to lose, whispered, “If you’re real, I need to know you.”
Nothing dramatic happened. No lightning, no voice from the clouds. But the very next day, a classmate she barely knew stopped her after class. “I know this is random, but would you want to come to my church group tonight?” Erin almost laughed. It felt too coincidental, but she said yes.
That evening, she sat in a circle of strangers as they read from the Gospel of John. When someone read, “I did not know Him, but the reason why I came… was that He might be made known,” something shifted inside her. Erin realized she’d never truly known Jesus—she’d only known about Him.
Over the next months, Erin kept showing up. She listened. She asked questions. She started to pray, not just words, but real prayers—sometimes angry, sometimes grateful, always honest. Slowly, she felt a presence in her life she couldn’t explain. It was like a door opening. It wasn’t her research or effort that brought her close. It was grace—God reaching out to her, again and again, until she could finally say, “Now I have seen and testify that He is the Son of God.”
Recognizing the Lamb of God: John’s Humble Witness
Today’s Gospel, from John 1:29-34, brings us once again to John the Baptist, standing in the wilderness, preparing the way for Jesus. John sees Jesus and cries out, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” This is not a small statement. To call Jesus the Lamb of God is to reach back into the story of Israel—the lambs sacrificed for forgiveness, the Passover lamb whose blood marked the doorposts of the faithful. John is saying, “This is the one. This is the sacrifice who brings forgiveness, not just for some, but for everyone.”
And then John says something curious, even shocking: “I did not know him.” Think about that. John and Jesus were relatives. Their mothers were cousins. John knew of Jesus, but he didn’t truly know who Jesus was—the Messiah, the Son of God—until God revealed it to him. “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him.” For John, it was not family ties, not his own insight, but God’s direct revelation that opened his eyes.
This humility is remarkable. John doesn’t claim special wisdom or spiritual superiority. He’s honest about his limitations—he needed God to reveal Jesus’s identity to him. John points to Jesus, never to himself. He says, in effect, “It’s not about me. It’s about Him.”
The Trappist monk Thomas Merton once wrote: “I did not even know who Christ was, that He was God. I had not the faintest idea that there existed such a thing as the Blessed Sacrament.” Merton’s words echo John the Baptist’s confession. Knowing about Jesus and truly encountering Him as Lord are two very different things. Merton’s journey, like John’s, reminds us that real knowledge of Christ only comes by grace, through a gradual unveiling, not through our own efforts or background.
Faith as Gift, Humility in Witness, and the Call to Point Others to Christ
So what does this mean for us? First, faith is a gift. Like John, we don’t come to faith by our own cleverness or background—it’s God who opens our eyes. Recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, the one who takes away our sins, begins with God’s initiative.
Second, our role is to point to Jesus. John’s whole purpose was to prepare the way, to make Jesus known. Our job isn’t to draw attention to ourselves, but to point others to Christ, even if we don’t have all the answers. We testify to what we’ve seen and experienced.
Third, humility matters. John’s willingness to admit, “I did not know him,” is a model for us. We don’t have all the answers, and that’s okay. What matters is responding to God’s revelation and sharing what we do know.
How do we get to know Jesus? We get to know Him by spending time with Him in prayer—listening, speaking honestly, sometimes even sitting in silence. We read the Gospels and let His words and actions shape our vision. Most of all, we open ourselves to God’s grace—through quiet moments, through the sacraments, and by inviting Him into the ordinary events of our lives.
John’s “I did not know him” is not a statement of failure, but of hope. It’s a reminder that faith is always a response to God’s action, not our own insight. Our task is to keep our eyes open for how God is revealing Jesus to us and to others, and to point to Him, with honesty and humility.
May we, like Erin, like John, and like so many before us, move from knowing about Jesus to truly knowing Him—and may we help others do the same.
Amen.
About Our Guest Blogger
Saint Carlo Acutis once said, “Not me, but God.” His words echo deeply in my own spiritual life. This blog is not about me, but about the work of the Holy Spirit. I choose to remain anonymous because the voice behind these reflections isn’t what matters — the One speaking through them is.
I am a lifelong Catholic with a deep love for Scripture, the sacraments, and the quiet ways God speaks through everyday life. Live the Eucharist was born from my desire to share how the Gospel and the Eucharist shape not just my Sundays, but every step of the journey.
My hope is that these reflections bless you, challenge you, and draw you closer to Jesus — truly present in the Eucharist and profoundly present in your daily life.
