Who Do You Think You Are? ~ John 1:6-8, 19-28 ~ Third Sunday in Advent

In my high school French class one day, the teacher asked us:

“What’s your raison d’être?”  That means “what is your reason for being” (but don’t take that to mean that I can speak French)…

Guess who she calls on first to answer her question…

So I tell her “I want to make a mark on the world.”

“Does this mean you’re going to write graffiti all over the desk?” she fired back.

What I really meant to say was that I wanted to be somebody.  I wanted to make a name for myself.  I wanted greatness.

John (the Baptist), on the other hand, was not concerned about making a name for himself…  He had a different raison d’être:

God sent him to testify that the light of the world had come.  God used John the Baptist to announce to the world that Jesus was the Messiah—so that all would believe in him.  In other words, God sent John to make a name for Jesus Christ. 

John certainly “left his mark on the world,” so to speak, because we’re still hearing about him 2,000 years later. 

But this is not a story about how great John was.  This is a story about God.  It’s a story about God claiming the life of ordinary person and using him in the salvation of the world. 

Our lives have this very same purpose. 

Baptism is where it all begins…  We go into the water as persons who live for sinful purposes—and when we come out, we are not who we used to be.  God recreates us into people who live for God’s purposes.  We become part of God’s continuing plan of salvation for the world.

But as long as we live, we remain sinners—and as such, we resist God’s purposes in so many ways…  We’re far more inclined to live and act in ways that bear witness to our own greatness, rather than God’s greatness… Think about it…

We seek greatness in important jobs that pay big money…  We seek greatness in fanciest, most expensive stuff…

Being a great person means that we never do wrong, we always do right…  We never make mistakes, we never fail…

Being a great person means that we can meet every single challenge in life; we overcome every obstacle; we can solve every problem and we never need anyone else’s help...

Being a great person means that we can do everything and they can please everyone, all of the time…

Living this way can lead to one of two things—we either become proud and arrogant because we’ve succeeded at achieving greatness—or we see ourselves as worthless because we fall so short.  The quest towards our own greatness leads us away from God.  The quest towards our own greatness leads to nowhere.

John said it best when he said “I am not the Christ.”  God didn’t send him to save; God sent him to serve—and the way he served was by his witness.  He didn’t need to be a great man to bear witness to Christ—he just needed God.  John was experiencing God’s greatness.  God had brought him into the light of Christ—and that is what he was bearing witness to.  Being a witness was his identity.  It was his life.  And John was faithful. 

As we wait the day of Christ’s promised return, now is the time for us know who we are as people of God.  We are not our jobs, we are not our bank accounts, we are not what we own, we are not superhuman, perfect persons.  We are not Christ.  We are baptized.  Christ lives in us.  Your identity, your life, your being are all rooted in Jesus Christ.  And that is something that cannot be changed…

So when you fail and stumble into sin, remember that you are baptized, and that your sins are forgiven through that baptism…

When you feel lost and helpless, and God seems so far away, remember that you are baptized, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you…  Your needs are known, your prayers are heard…  God is taking care of you.

And when you find yourself going through a time when you are unsure of what your purpose is in life, remember that you are baptized—and that God has made you a part of the saving work that God is doing in the world.  Your God-given purpose is to live in the light of God’s grace and hope—and share that light with others.

[And If you are not baptized, know that all of God’s gifts are already yours; all you have to do is come and receive them.]

Now is the time for us to know who we are and live accordingly.  Now is the time for us to be faithful witnesses.

And being a witness is not necessarily what we may be accustomed to thinking it is.  I remember a day I was working in the bookstore, and a man asked me if I had accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.  I’ve always thought of witness that way, until I had the chance to meet some of the staff at the nursing home where my grandmother lived as she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease...  Her mind and memory were nearly gone—but she was still the gentle, kind, patient, and joyful person she always was. 

My family often wondered why God was keeping her alive, given the terrible state she was in.

But the people who cared for grandma all spoke of what a blessing it was to know her.  Caring for her made their days good.  Grandma was baptized—and her purpose was her witness, even when there was nothing else she could do. 

We don’t have to go out on a limb to be faithful witnesses.  We just have to be true to who we are as persons baptized into Christ.  God doesn’t send us to save others, but to serve others—and that is how we bear witness.  We serve by listening; by learning their needs and responding in kind.  We serve with compassion and generosity.  We serve with patience and forgiveness.  We serve by taking advantage of every opportunity we are given to let the light of Christ’s love shine from within us.  No matter what, there are always ways we can be witnesses. 

Inside of each of us is the light of Christ, which God is using to save this fallen world.  That is what it means to be who we are.  May God give us courage to venture into the dark places of to let this light shine…  May God give us grace to be faithful witnesses to the Savior who is coming to redeem this world, so that all may hear the good news and believe.