Homily: Third Sunday of Advent
17 December 2023
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Fr. Ricky C. Montanez
“Who are you?” This is the typical question we ask of a stranger or of someone we encounter whom we do not know. The answer to that question can actually vary from an awareness of self, which would answer the question “Who am I?”. To answer “Who am I?” we come to an awareness of a personal understanding of our origins, our comprehensive life experience, our preferences — likes and dislikes, and the formation of our character — positive and negative traits included. To answer “Who are you?” deals with how we present ourselves to the world, how we wish to be known, or how people come to know us. To have both aspects of our person as identical as possible, is an exercise in authenticity. To be true to one’s self allows us to be happy with our identity.
“Who are you?” This is a key question asked of John in today’s gospel passage. Such question requires an answer that goes beyond simply stating one’s name and occupation or the fact that he is the only son of Zechariah and Elizabeth and cousin to Jesus. Rather, it requires John to go deeper and state his role and purpose in relation to the Messiah. He had that clarity about who he was in relation to the Messiah. We know that John had chosen to live in the wilderness, wearing clothes of animal skin, and surviving on locusts and honey. This allowed him to fully detach from the pleasures of the world and to fully focus on his mission. John states that he is not the light but he is to bear testimony to the Light. He is rather the “voice crying out in the wilderness” to prepare the way of the Lord. Some of John’s followers believed that he was the anointed one but he had no qualms about dashing their hopes in order to correct all their false assumptions of his identity.
We may consider John and Jesus to be a good team in terms of bringing to fruition God’s plan of salvation for the world. The Gospel according to Luke draws the parallelism between John and Jesus — where an angel appeared to John’s father and Jesus’ mother to announce their birth, their conception and birth were surrounded by marvellous circumstances, and both were predicted to have an extraordinary destiny. Each one had a special and irreplaceable role to play in bringing about God’s Good News of salvation to the people. John never pretended to be the Messiah. Even as a baby in the womb, he recognised the divine nature of Jesus! In the Visitation account, he leaps in the womb of his mother as soon as the pregnant Mary approaches. John knew that his role was to “prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah and to point to Jesus as that Messiah.” Meanwhile, Jesus affirmed by word and deeds the truth of John’s witness.
They say people are prone to depression these days. Oftentimes, it is a consequence of not knowing the beauty of who they are as persons and their inner strength or exhaustion from putting up pretences and projecting an image that they believe they need to do to be successful, accepted, or simply liked by others. How can one be truly happy when it takes too much effort and energy to pretend to be someone you are not? Those who work in high profile jobs like the entertainment industry, public office, and now content creation, are more prone to suffer from a disconnect between how they present themselves and who they truly are. What my friend told me about an interview of Heart Evangelista came to mind as a good example. Heart, said in an interview that her videos documenting her preparations and attendance to fashion shows in Milan, Paris and New York are not contrived or staged. She is not playing a part but being herself because she genuinely loves high fashion and is a patron of these luxe fashion houses. She allows herself to be recorded being in honest conversations with family and friends. This is the lifestyle she chooses and it brings her joy and happiness, even if a lot of people misunderstand her.
To be happy, we need to find out who we are and who God intended us to be. It was only with a greater sense of awareness and appreciation of his role and relationship with Jesus that John was able to live out his purpose and fulfil his mission to the best of his ability. Similarly, all of us followers of Jesus are also called to grow in consciousness of our relationship with our Lord and become more and more committed to our role as Christians to prepare others to recognise Him and receive Him in their life. We hope one day, when we come face to face with Jesus, He need not ask: “Who are you?” but rather, recognise us, immediately as His faithful followers.
Internet Sources of Christ and His disciples Painting by Dan Comaniciu
Sunday Gospel Reflections 