Thursday before Epiphany(Click here for readings)
This is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?"
Who are you? This is not a very easy question to answer. I could answer the question by stating my name, but that wouldn't really say much about who I am. In fact, it might actually be misleading, for who I am may be better described by someone else's name.
What's in a name? Throughout Scripture, God changes people's names. The Lord changed Simon's name to Peter. He changed Abram's name to Abraham. The Lord loves to change people's names, especially after they have undergone a profound conversion. So what name would best describe who you are?
When the priests and Levites asked John, "Who are you?" he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ." So they asked him. "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you a prophet?" He answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you...?"
This dialogue is very confusing. But come to think about it, even John's name is very confusing, since no one from his family ever had that name. What is the Lord trying to tell us? For starters, I know God is not trying to confuse us. If anything, He is trying to make things clearer than ever before. Something new is happening. Something revolutionary is about to begin. A new day is dawning. A new creation is emerging.
Who are you? A few nights ago I went to see the movie, "Saving Mr. Banks." It was a beautiful little movie. What you will get out of it is nothing less than a confirmation: We are who we most admire.
This reality can be either very wonderful or very crippling. In this case, it was a mix of both, which made this movie very interesting.
It's hard to get to know people and understand them. It's hard for people to get to know and understand themselves. The reason being we admire conflicting people throughout our lives.
But the beautiful thing about writing fictional stories is that they can take real life conflicts and make them end happily ever after. They can also do the same with conflicting influences as well.
I am a voice crying out in the desert. Our ability to imagine is a gift from God. It allows us to visualize who we wish to be and how we wish to end: "When you wish upon a star...makes no difference who you are..."
The next step is to make right our experiences and those conflicting personalities we most admire.
Who do you admire most? The answer should be Jesus, the joy of man's desire.
It's time we start our journey by following the star that leads to Him.
Once I spent a prolonged period of prayer asking God to help me better understand my identity. I was very interested in a change in career, and was hoping he might tell me the name of a new profession--lawyer, social worker, etc. etc. Instead, He surprised me and gave me a very simple answer that I have treasured to this day: DAUGHTER.
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