Loving God, you welcome us as your own children because of Jesus, and give our lives meaning and purpose.  May each one of us continue to grow in our relationship with you, empowered by your Spirit and filled with your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    They had travelled more than 30 km from Jerusalem, just to see what was happening by the Jordan River.  The religious officials, of course, had heard about John, and they wanted to know why he was doing what he was doing.  Who gave him the authority to be out there by the river, telling people to repent and to be baptized?  And so the priests and the Levites, all decked out in their robes, came from Jerusalem in order to ask John a very important question: “Who are you?”

    One could almost feel the tension rising in the crowd as the officials came closer to the river and approached John.  People stepped aside to let them through, waiting to see what would happen.  John, too, stopped as they approached, wondering if they would actually listen to his message.  However, they stopped on the bank of the river and asked John their all-important question: “Who are you, and why are you doing this?”

    John begins his answer by telling them who he is not.  “I am not the Messiah,” says John.  I am not the anointed one – the descendant of David who will come to save God’s people.  “That’s good,” thought the priests and Levites.  “We thought not!  But still, who are you?  Are you Elijah?”  “No,” says John.  “I am not Elijah, who will be the forerunner of the day of the Lord” (cf. Mal. 4:5-6).  “What, then,” say the leaders?  “Are you the prophet - the one like Moses who will come to speak God’s word?” (Deut. 18:15) “No,” says John.  “I am not the prophet.”  

    “Well, who are you then?” ask the religious leaders.  We need to have an answer for the Pharisees who sent us from Jerusalem.  John straightened himself to his full height and gave them his reply: “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said” (Jn. 1:23).  Obviously this is not the answer the priests and Levites were expecting, for they continue to question John.  “So why are you baptizing?” they demand.  “What right do you have?”  “I am pointing to the one who is coming after me,” says John.  “Compared to him, I am nothing.  He is among you, and you do not know it.”

    “Who are you?” they asked John.  “Who are you, and what do you say about yourself?”  How would any of us answer this question?  “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”  How would you answer?  (Name?  Relatives?  Occupation?  Calling?  Scripture?)

    It’s a question that not everybody seems to be able to answer.  A few weeks ago, I heard a native woman of Saulteaux background tell her story.  She had been part of what is known as the “sixties scoop,” taken away from her family as a child and adopted into a white family.  As she grew up, she learned that it was shameful to be aboriginal, and she had no idea who her biological parents or brothers or sisters were.  For many years, she had a very hard time answering the question, “Who are you?”  However, eventually she did manage to find her biological family and embraced her aboriginal heritage.  She is now proud to say that she is both Aboriginal and Christian.

    For others, too, who are not aboriginal or adopted, the question of identity can be difficult.  Perhaps it is particularly young people who find themselves trying to fit in and be accepted.  Many, rather than knowing who they are, continually ask the question, “Who would you like me to be?”  Others plead, in the words of Supertramp, “Please tell me who I am”!  There is always concern about what others will think, and many people actually leave it up to others to tell them if they are okay or not.  “Am I doing well?  Is this what you want?”

    This is actually a very fearful way to live, for people can be very changeable in what they want from you from one moment to the next.  And so, what if we were to base our identity on our relationship with God through Jesus Christ?  What if we were to base our identity in Scripture – like John did and like Jesus did?  While there are many passages that we might choose, there’s one from 1 John 3:1 that comes to mind.  “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.”

    We are created in the image of God.  We are redeemed and forgiven through Jesus Christ.  We are adopted into God’s family through baptism into Christ.  We are given the Holy Spirit and set aside for lives of service.  We are privileged to be able to approach God in prayer and worship, for we have been put into a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  This is the identity that God gives to us.

    However, God not only welcomes us as God’s children, but also gives us a role in God’s mission.  In John’s case, his role was the voice crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” (Jn. 1:23).  He is also identified as “a witness to testify to the light” (Jn. 1:7).  For us, of course, we don’t have a birth announced by angels or a really specific commission like John did (Lk. 1:5-25).  So how do we know what our role is in God’s mission to love and to bless the world?

    For one thing, we are part of the body of Christ (which is also Christ’s church), and as such every single one of us has been given gifts of the Spirit in order to help the body build itself up in love, taking direction from Jesus, the head.  And so, in that sense, our roles are going to be different according to what gifts each of us has been given.  However, the body of Christ is never an end in itself.

    As part of God’s mission to love and to bless the world, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in as many different ways as possible is always our goal.  And so, whether that means sharing what Jesus means to us with a friend or neighbour, or sharing the basic necessities with those in need, or sharing a meal with somebody who is hungry, God empowers us by the Holy Spirit to “testify to the light” – to shine the light of Christ into the darkest places in this world.

    As Christians, we do not have to be defined by what others say about us or by the standards of the world around us.  Instead, we have the freedom to live out of the identity that God gives to us, and to say, quite rightly, “I am a precious child of God.”  At the same time, not one of us is without meaning and purpose, for we have been given the Holy Spirit and called into God’s service – partners in God’s mission to love and to bless the world.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Advent 3(B)                                    John 1:6-8, 19-28
December 11, 2011
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2011 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved