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).

The Ultimate Reason We Have Been Put on Earth

In today’s first reading, Ecclesiastes 1: 2-11, Qoheleth reminds us that “[a]ll things are vanity! What profit has [a person] from all the labor which [one] toils at under the sun? One generation passes and another comes….There is no remembrance of [the people] of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them.”  So what is life all about? And how vain is it for those who believe they are here on earth to make a name for themselves, to build “empires” with their pictures and names plastered all over them? Yet, we know that people spend a lifetime pursuing such honors and accolades. We also know that some peoples’ names are remembered for better or for worse: the “Herods,” the “Hitlers”, the “Napoleons,” the “Caesars,” the “Bushes,” the “Clintons,” the “Carters,” the “Obamas,” the “Mitchels,” the “Trumps,”  the “Dianas,” the “Bing Crosbys,” the “Martin Luther Kings,” of this world  and so on.  However, the majority of peoples will pass through this world without being remembered except by their immediate family and loved ones.  Some of these people will be remembered for the evil they promoted and others for the good they accomplished and the justice they pursued. For what and by whom will you and I be remembered?

“Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity” except the Way, the Truth, and the Life; except the faith journey of Ruth and Esther, Naomi and Judith,  Mary, Elizabeth and the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas, Aquila and Priscilla and so many other women and men who gave, and give,  their lives to proclaim the Kingdom and carry on the mission of Christ given to them and all of us by our Creator God. Yes, we all have one purpose given to us by the Lord God before we were born naturally through our biological births and spiritually in baptism and confirmation: to build the Kingdom of love, mercy and justice for all; to be reconcilers with God and one another.  Like Jesus, we are to live in this world as a passing reality. Like Jesus, we are to die and rise to new life here and in eternity, where, like Jesus, we will be glorified through the blood of Christ by the One who paid our ransom with His life. All else is vanity!

Peace as Related to a Firm Purpose and Trust

In today’s first reading, Is. 26: 1-6, the prophet states that the Lord keep in peace those nations who trust in Him. That also means that the Lord keeps a family, a person, a parish, a city at peace when those entities/persons trust in the Lord. When I go “bonkers,” when I lose my peace, it is then that I am not trusting in the Lord but in myself, in other human beings, in materials things that have no power to save or to right a wrong or quell the opposition.  The strength of my trust may very well be in how I react when meeting opposition, encountering difficulties, experiencing setbacks or glitches in my “armor.”

Isaiah, furthermore, states, of the Lord, that “[a] nation of firm purpose, you keep in peace.” I might compare when my purpose is strong and when it is weak. If my purpose is strong, I am then determined to find God, to discern God’s will. I rely on God alone and am open to, humble about, considering the opinion/input from others, knowing that each person has a significant part of the truth.  My purpose is weak when I am seeking self-aggrandizement, power over others; when I am  pursuing my will or relying on self apart from God and when, pridefully, I discard the insight from others or avoid listening to others altogether.

The consequence of operating from a weak purposed , in the words of Isaiah, is that the Lord will humble me and tumble me from the “high places” where pride leads me. I will be brought low, tumbled to the ground.  My pride will be leveled “with the dust”; it will “be trampled underfoot” (compare Isaiah 26: 1-6). In the words of today’s Gospel, when my purpose is weak I am building my house on sand. When it is strong, I am building upon a firm foundation, the Rock who is God.

Our Destiny: Written by the Hand of God

In today's first reading, Acts 18: 1-8, Paul encounters opposition in Athens and leaves for Corinth, where he meets a man named Aquila and his wife Priscilla, Jews who were expelled from Italy.  To this very day, people are discriminated against for various reasons.  Within our very nature both sin and holiness abide. Good and evil battle each other in our very thoughts and emotions and at times we follow the voices within us that direct us to treat others disrespectfully. At other times we listen to the good spirit within, the voice that flows from our God-self. 

The Spirit in Paul directs him to stop proclaiming the Good News to his fellow Jews and enter Gentile territory to bring the news of Jesus Christ to them.  He becomes known as the Apostle to the Gentiles. At times we might be unaware of our destiny, yet everything in our lives will direct us to carrying out God's plan for us, the purpose for which we were created. Many times we are directed to other tasks, other locations, other situations to be an instrument in the hands of God. We may say "I can't believe I did that or accomplished that. I didn't know I had it in me but with the grace of God I endured, I worked, I made a difference in the lives of others sent to me for reasons God alone knows.

Maya Angelou, a black woman who was the victim of rape and of racial discrimination.  She rose to her potential and made a great impact upon the world. She became a woman of inspiration, of courage and incredible talent shared with the entire world. Who would have thought that such was her destiny.  Everyone and perhaps the person/s considered the least among us in elementary, high school or college surprised us when we learn of the wonderful things that person did in building up God's kingdom in a world of discrimination, hatred and ignorance. Yes, in God's plan,  no one is left behind, neither  you or I. We have a purpose that will be achieved even if it is like the tree growing out of the side of a mountain because of Master is the One who triumphed over death itself.