“Saint John the Baptist and the Pharisees"

by Larry Fraher, Ph.D., Director of Faith Formation & Education  |  12/04/2022  |  Images of Faith

The nineteenth century French painter James Tissot created this illustration of today’s Gospel reading in the period 1886-1894 as a part of a collection of art works of the life of Christ that are rooted in his own experience of visiting and touring the Holy Land. Tissot pictures John atop a rock formation that appears to be an entry to a cave, helping us to see and know the rough wilderness that was the Baptist's home. Gathered around him, listening, are several individuals. They appear to be from all walks of life: soldiers, townsfolk and, of course, the Pharisees and Sadducees, positioned front and center, sitting in profile, hearing the preaching of the final prophet.

John's energy is clearly directed toward them as he points them out calling them a “brood of vipers.” The area is rocky, and in the background are a few people descending the hill toward the group. One of those, striding alone and ahead of the rest, is dressed in all white. Based on Tissot's other paintings, this is his motif and presentation of an image of Christ.

John the Baptist is a polarizing character. As a prophet of God, he understands his mission to proclaim a deep fidelity to the covenantal relationship that God has established with humanity. He understands Jesus Christ as the fulfillment and completion of that covenant. With John, there can be no in-between. There is passion or apathy, involvement or indifference, self-gift or hoarding gifts for one’s self. In this image we have the presentation of the Gospel in full bloom. John is preaching the coming of the Messiah, even as the Christ strides down the hill. The leaders of the Jewish faith sit, listening, too wrapped up in their own thoughts to fully understand. Christ, the one who will raise up descendants of Abraham from the inanimate stones upon which he walks, now comes preparing to clear the threshing floor. The image invites our reflections. Are you an innocent bystander, witnessing the work of John? Are you an invested hearer of John's proclamations, wondering who this Messiah is to be? Are you a soldier, standing silently, perhaps waiting to pounce at the first sign of rebellion or secretly believing? Or, are you a Pharisee or Sadducee, seeking John, and ultimately Jesus, because it is the “in” thing to do?

In this manner, the call of this Second Sunday of Advent asks us if you are prepared to become a person of passion and involvement, a person who gives self fully to Christ? Or, are you going to rest upon your laurels, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, take what you think you deserve or have earned, and be apathetic, indifferent, and selfish?

John reminds us that preparing for the coming of Christ requires us to choose to engage with Christ and to offer ourselves fully to Him. Are you ready? There is no in-between. Prepare the way!

James Tissot, “Saint John the Baptist and the Pharisees,” opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, 1886-1894, Brooklyn: The Brooklyn Museum.