Who You

My question for you today is about the Bible, specifically, the New Testament. My question is also about “questions.” My question is this: in the New Testament, what are the two major questions that are asked?

Now a lot of questions were asked in the gospels, as well as in the letters of Paul and the other apostles. So how could there be only two major questions? Well, I believe there are only two major questions and that all other questions are related to them. Just as there are the two greatest commandments, and all other commandments are related to them. In the same way, I believe there are two primary questions asked in the New Testament.

The first question was asked by Jesus of his disciples: “Who do you say I am?” And the second was asked in today’s gospel by the priests and Levites and those sent by the pharisees. It’s the question they asked John the Baptist: “who are you?”

I believe the answers to these two questions define all Christians when they are applied to each one of us. Each one of us is asked by Jesus: “Who do you say I am.” And each one of us is asked by others in the world, as well as by Jesus, himself: “Who are you?” It is our responses to these questions that shape our relationship to Jesus and to all others. They also shape our replies to all of the other questions found in the Bible, questions about truth, about sinners, about salvation.

In other homilies, we’ve examined the first question which Jesus asked us. So, today, let’s take a closer look at the response of John the Baptist to the second question: “Who are you?” Evidently, his questioners wondered if he were the messiah who had come to bring them salvation, since John’s first answer was: “I am not the messiah.”

Is this the response you and I give? Or – are there those among us who act as if they are, indeed, the “messiah.” Those who have a so-called, “messiah complex.” Who are out to save the world by their own power. Who speak and behave as if everything depended upon their own actions. Who do not recognize that everything they really accomplish depends, not upon themselves, but upon their cooperation with God – and upon the proper use of the talents and gifts God has bestowed upon them.

And if I agree with John the Baptist that I am not the “messiah,” what about his next responses: “No, I am not Elijah.” I am not the one who is to appear before the Messiah comes. “No, I am not even the prophet,” the one promised by Moses to return before the Messiah appears.

Do we agree with John the Baptist in our response to the question, “who are you?” – that we are neither the messiah nor those who precede him in power? Do we agree we are, instead, only the messenger, the voice who cries out to others to prepare the way of the Lord? Are we among those who do not blow their own trumpet, but rather announce to others that the Lord, himself, is among us?

In response to the question, “who are you?” can I say, “I am a Christian, a follower of Christ.” And if I say I am, then what do I mean by it? Am I one who puts into practice the instructions Saint Paul gave to the Thessalonians in today’s second reading? In his letter, which is said to be the first one Paul wrote to any of the communities he founded, he gave instructions on how to be a Christian. He wrote: “rejoice always, never cease praying, render constant thanks … such is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

According to Paul, a Christian is one who rejoices, always; one who prays, always; one who gives thanks, always. Christians are those who allow the Holy Spirit to enter their lives, yet at the same time, are not deceived by those who claim to be their guides but, in reality, are false friends.

Paul instructs us: “test everything, retain what is good. Avoid any semblance of evil.” In other words, he says we should not only avoid sin, but avoid what, in the old-time church, were called: “The near occasions of sin.” He urges us to examine everything that impacts upon our lives as Christians and not to get near those events or behaviors which would tend to lead us astray.

And to what end? Why are we joy-filled, always? Why do we pray, always? Why do we give thanks, always? Perhaps it is because we have truly heard the message of Jesus who, at the very beginning of his public ministry, quoted the words proclaimed in today’s first reading from the prophet, Isaiah: “the spirt of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord…” and when Jesus finished reading these words he added: “and today they have been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus, himself, has given us the answer to the question: “Who are you?” He has told us that: … we are the brokenhearted who have been healed … we are the captives who have been set free … we are the ones who have received a year of favor from the Lord.

We are also told something else in the words from Isaiah: I am the bridegroom; I am the bride. Who is more joy-filled, who is more thankful than a bride and a groom on their wedding day? This is who we are meant to be as we celebrate the first coming of the Christ Child and await the Second Coming of the man called the Anointed One of God, the Messiah.

As we make our responses to the questions: “Who do you say I am?” and “Who are you?” we need to recall the concluding prayer Saint Paul sent to the Thessalonians twenty centuries ago: “May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May you be preserved whole and entire … spirit, soul, and body … irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls us … is trust-worthy, therefore he will do it.”

^{Third Sunday in Advent: December 15, 1996
Is 61: 1-2a, 10-11; 1 Thess 5:16-24; Jn 1: 6-8, 19-20}