Personal Identity and One's Unique Purpose

In today’s Gospel, John 1: 19-28, Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to John to find out who he was and why he was baptizing; in other words, to give an account of himself.  When asked “Who are you,” John the Baptist replied: ‘I am not the Christ.’ So they asked him, ‘What are you then? Are you Elijah?’ And he said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?’ He said: ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.’”

John the Baptist knew why he was here.  The answer for him was voiced by the prophet Isaiah.  You and I, too, will find the answer to the question “who are you” written in the Scriptures and then on our hearts.   God says to us, as He said to John the Baptist, “In the wilderness [of life here on earth] prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert [of your life] a highway for our God” (Is 40:3).

 A mother said to me this morning that whenever her daughter came to her with a question, confused about a situation, she would counsel her. After taking the time to truly listen to her and at the end of their conversation, this wise mother would say to her daughter:  “Take your concerns to God.”   In other words, she was saying: “Go talk to God and tell Him everything you just told me.”   How wise! As a teenager, the young lady wrote her mother, this Christmas, a letter thanking her for her wise counsel and voiced her love for her. Truly, this mother knows that she is here on earth to “make straight the way of the Lord,” and direct her children to the Lord, introduce them to God, and teach them to confide in God.

Why are you here?  What is the purpose for which God created you?  May you have the courage, in the beginning of this New Year, to answer those questions and, if necessary, to make key changes in your perspective of why God sustains you in existence each day!  Truly, then, as John says to us in today first reading, 1 John 2: 22-28, you will have “confidence and not be put to shame by him (Jesus) at his coming” (1 John 2: 28).