Homily Advent 3B: Who are you? I am a child of God leading others to God

 Homily for Advent – 3^rd Sunday Year B 2020-2021

2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,16; Romans 16:25-27 · Luke 1:26-38

Introduction

“Who are you?”  That is the question the messengers from Jerusalem ask John the Baptist.  The Jews want to know who, this man, going around preaching and baptising people is.  So, they ask him: “Who are you?”

If I were a betting man, I would bet that you today have the same question for me.  Although I have been here before, it was back when Fr. Kyle was pastor.  So, you too are probably asking: “Who are you?”  And a few of you are probably wondering, because of my foreign accent, if I am from Mississippi.

Even John the Baptist, when he was in prison and heard what Jesus was doing, he sent messengers to Jesus to ask, not in so many words: “Who are you?”  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Lk. 7:19-20).

Two chapters later, even Jesus asks the disciples to tell him who people think he is.  They gave various answers: “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”  And when Jesus asked them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said: “(You are) The Messiah of God” (Lk. 9:18-21).

That the Jews, John the Baptist, even Jesus ask this question “Who are you” shows the importance of this question.  For although our society is concerned more with doing things, actions, in Scripture, who we are, our identity comes first.

Scripture and Theology

Did you notice the answer that John the Baptist when asked who he was? First, he told them who he was not.  He refused to take on a false identity.

·        When asked if he was the Christ, the Messiah that was to come, he flatly denied it, saying: “I am not the Christ.” In other words, I am not the Anointed One whom God the Father has sent to redeem the world.  We will say a little more why he denies being the Messiah.

·        Again, they asked him: "What are you then? Are you Elijah?"  Still, he said: "I am not."  As you know Elijah was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament.  And tradition had it that he did not die, but was taken on a chariot to heaven.  Before the coming of the Messiah, he would come back to earth to prepare for his coming.  And although in some way John has taken on the role of Elijah, he is not Elijah.

·        Finally, they asked him: "Are you the Prophet?"  Now they are not asking if he is any prophet, but "The Prophet."  This special Prophet was Moses, who in Deuteronomy (18:15) had told the people: "A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen."  John denied that he was Moses.

But why would all these learned people confuse John the Baptist for the Messiah, or Elijah or even Moses?

Well, they had been waiting for God to fulfil his promise for a really long time.  It was about time, that the Messiah or someone like him showed up!  Moreover, John the Baptist seemed to fit the bill.  He was eccentric, in fact, quite unconventional in his lifestyle, in his words and in his actions.

·        Like a homeless man, he lived in the desert, ate locusts and wild honey, and dresses in camel hair, the kind of things prophets might do!

·        He preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand, and asked people to prepare the ways of the Lord and to make straight his paths, that is to change their ways and return to the Lord.

·        Most of all he carried out this dramatic ritual, of baptising people in the Jordan River, as a sign that they had repented from their sins.

And so, the priests and Levites, perhaps exasperated that John is not who they thought he was, ask him again: "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?"  They are joined a little later by the Pharisees who also ask: “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”

This is when John tells them who he really is, the one who has come to prepare for the Messiah, the one who plays second fiddle to Jesus.  And he describes this identity three times when he points away from himself to the Messiah.

·        "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord,'" he says. In other words, he is only a forerunner to the Messiah.

·        “I have baptized you with water; he [the Messiah] will baptize you with the holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:8).  In other words, his baptism only prepares the people; the baptism of the Jesus by the Holy Spirit will save them.

·        And to top the comparison off, he says: “there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”  In other words, John is even lower than a slave, whose job it was to untie the sandal strap of the Master.

And so, John is content to be just the best man standing by the bridegroom; he is content to decrease so the Messiah might increase.  For as today's gospel says of John the Baptist: "He was not the light, but came to testify to the light,” to point to the light, to point to the Messiah.  That is who he is!

Christian Life

When people ask you and me: “who are you?”  How do we respond?  Perhaps we might say: “I am a man or a woman; I am an American or a Ugandan; I am a husband or wife; I am White or Black; I am a teacher or businessman; I am a Republican or a Democrat; I am a lay person or a priest.”  And these are good answers, as they point to something of who we are.

A few years ago, in an interview, Pope Francis was asked this very question, “Who are you? Who is Jorge Bergoglio?”  He didn’t say, “I am the Pope, the head of a Church of one billion plus people” or something like.  His answer was: “I am a sinner. . .. I am a sinner whom the Lord looked upon with mercy.” 

For our answers to the question of identity, to be like that of John the Baptist and of Pope Francis, they must have these two essential elements.

First, our answer must refer to something that is really important, an essential part of who we are, and not merely a passing state.  For example, when you say “I am a husband or a wife,” that is a true identity, because that identity is like the skin you carry around all the time, not the clothes which you put on and take off.  And knowing what this permanent identity is will guide your behaviour, for example, your fidelity, because it will flow from your inner self.

Secondly, our answer must be relational, connecting us to our neighbour and to God.  Our most important identities are not just about ourselves, about the unholy trinity of “me, myself and I.”  Your identity as a husband or a wife, a father or a mother, a son or a daughter comes from your relationship with another person, a spouse, a child, a parent, who God has placed in your life.

Conclusion

As you know, Advent is a season not just for preparing for Christmas, but also for preparing for the Second Coming.  At that time, the Lord will ask us “who have you been on earth?”  That is why we must ask ourselves, while we still have the chance, we should ask ourselves: “Who am I?”  And occasionally, we should examine ourselves to see if you are truly living up to our identity.  And if we discover we are not, then we go to confession, to cleanse ourselves, and as it were, return to who we are, to who God created us to be.

So, who are you?  I really cannot answer that question for you; each of us has to do it himself or herself, hopefully giving a profound and a relational identity.  As for me, here is my rather long-winded answer.  “I am a child of God, chosen by Christ to be his priest, to be a mediator between him and his people.”  I hope that this identity guides my action towards God and my neighbour, especially those entrusted to my care.  I hope that this identity, like that of John the Baptist helps me to point others not to myself, but to Christ, to play second fiddle to the Master.