WHO ARE YOU? I AM A VOICE CRYING IN THE DESERT

Jn 1: 19-28

Today’s Gospel speaks about the witness of John the Baptist when the the Jews sent “priests and Levites” to question him about who he was. In my meditation I was trying to put myself in the contest and understand why all these questions to John. I think, looking at how John was preaching, people were convinced that he was probably the Messiah and they wanted to confirm that. The first question is are you the Christ? He says I am not. Then immediately they thing that if he is not the Messiah then he is the great prophet. Are you Elijah? He says I am not. Some thing strange. If he is not Elijah, but he is a prophet. Are you a prophet? And he says no. They are confused; he is neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet. Then who are you so that we can give an answer to those who sent us?

What is very interesting is that John the Baptist had a clear sense of who he was and who he wasn’t and it’s what I’d like for us to think about this morning.

John the Baptist is teaching us that our ability to know Jesus as the Christ begins with the confession that we are not the Christ. In other words, as long we rely on our own strength and wisdom and resources, we hold Christ at a distance. Only as we recognize our dependence on Christ, a power greater than ourselves and confess our need of his grace and love, we truly experience him as the Lord and Savior of our lives.

John's confession is very interesting. His confessing is his declaration about Christ, when he says, "I am not the Christ." He calls himself a voice in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. Thus his confession is free and open, declaring not only what he is, but also what he is not.

“How is it that you baptize if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? The response of John is another affirmation with which he indicates that Jesus is the Messiah: “ I baptize with water, but standing among you, unknown to you, is one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandal”.

Do you recognize the presence of the Lord Jesus in your life? John the Baptist did such a great job of stirring the peoples’ expectation of the Messiah’s arrival, that many thought he might be the Messiah himself, or at least the great prophet Elijah who was expected to reappear at the Messiah’s coming. John had no mistaken identity. In all humility and sincerity he said he was only a voice bidding people to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah King. Do you recognize your identity as an adopted child of God and a citizen of God's heavenly kingdom?

John was the greatest of the prophets, yet he lived as a humble and faithful servant of God. He pointed others to Jesus, the Messiah and Savior of the world. Do you point others to Jesus Christ by the testimony of your witness and example?