Third Sunday in Advent B.  December 11 2005.  Our Lady of Grace, 7:30, 11:30, 6PM.  Isaiah 61: 1- 2a, 10-11.   I Thessalonians 5: 16-24.  John 1: 6-8, 19-28.

One of the favorite events in my Christmas celebration is going to the Black Nativity performed by the African American community of the Twin Cities.  While this wonderful musical enactment of the birth of Jesus has changed much over the years, one of the scenes that has always touched me deeply is the final chorus when the whole community of former slaves, poor people still, sing with great enthusiasm, “Go tell everyone, we is children of God.”   In spite of all the bitterness and hardships in their lives, they know that they are God’s children – this one fact gives them hope, it fills them with joy and it gives them the courage to build a better world for themselves and for their children.  If slavery, racism and poverty were problems that they had to handle alone, life would be pretty desolate.  But their life story is not really about them.  Their life story and our life story is about Jesus.  Because of Jesus we know that we are all children of God.   The way out of our dark self-centeredness into the true meaning of our lives lies in the realization that it is not really about us.  We find ourselves and those around us as we learn to prepare the way of the Lord. 

When leaders came from Jerusalem they asked John the Baptist, “Who are you?”  John said, “I am not the Christ – I am not the Messiah?”  This statement alone took a lot of pressure off of John the Baptist.  He was not the Christ so he did not have to act as if he were the Christ.  He did not have to live up to people’s expectations about how the Christ would look or act.  Knowing who we are not is very important.  Recognizing the fact that we are not like our oldest brother or our youngest sister may bring us both relief and freedom.  When we know who we are not then we don’t have to act like someone else no matter how much people expect us to do so.   Perhaps you are not someone else’s definition of success, or you are not the math wizard that someone else is, or you are not the great athlete that you father always wanted.  John the Baptist acknowledged who he was not with honesty and strength.  Many people would have been very pleased if he had said that he was the Christ.  He could have gotten a lot of attention if he had acted like the Messiah – a least for a while.  But the way to freedom, to joy and to true success involves being who we are and allowing others to be themselves as well.  I am not the Messiah.  I am not God.  I am not perfect. The big story is not about me; it is about the coming of Jesus, the Lord

The leaders went on tempting John the Baptist to who he was not.  They said, “Are you Elijah?”  John said, “I am not.”  They said, “Are you the Prophet?”   John said, “No.”   In desperation they said, “Well then who are you?”   John answered, “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert; make straight the way of the Lord.”   John’s most important identity and the most powerful thing that he did in his life was to prepare the way for Jesus.  Only Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the source of all creation and the Savior of the human race. You and I are neither the Messiah, nor the solution to all of life’s problems, no matter how hard we try. It is really not about us.  Our lofty vocation is to prepare the way of the Lord.  Every vocation, occupation and way of life that prepares people to meet Jesus is good and holy. 

Seeing ourselves correctly and honestly in relationship to Christ is a great source of peace and power in our lives.  When Pope Benedict XVI was elected pope on April 19 of this year his first words to the world were the following:  “After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.  The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.”    The way we describe ourselves speaks volumes about how we see the unfolding of our lives.  The whole world waited in St. Peter’s square or watched on TV to hear about the new pope.  Pope Benedict could have said that he was a theologian, a cardinal, a proficient author of many books, fluent in many languages, and even a very good pianist – but he said none of these things. Pope Benedict said, “I am a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.”   The theme of World Youth Day in Cologne last August was “We have come to worship him" (Mt 2: 2).When the new Pope appeared among the young people he made it very clear that he was stepping into the shadows a bit so the focus of World Youth Day would be on Jesus, the Eucharist and young people, not primarily on the Pope.  The role of the Pope as a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord is to lead people to Christ and not to lead them to himself.

The primary role of a husband and wife in marriage is to lead one another to Christ.  On good days and bad, in sickness and in health, married people prepare the way of the Lord for one another.   The primary role of parents is to lead their children to Christ.   While every parent wants to leave their children the heritage of a good home, a good education and some financial resources in an estate, the most enduring gift that parents give their children is a deep and powerful relationship with Jesus Christ and with his Church. Even though they may feel like they are “a voice crying out in the desert”, the responsibility of every parent is to lead their children to Christ.  Often the Lord blesses our efforts in ways that may not be clear for years to come. Business, education, medicine, or whatever our vocation may be, all of these find their deepest purpose in preparing the way for the Lord in silent and simple ways and in ways that are clear and obvious. 

We are not God.  You and I are not the Christ.  We are not the answer to the world’s problems or the remedy for the world’s pain.  We are “the voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord.”   We have a very important role in leading people to Jesus Christ, the only lasting source of peace and joy.  In thanksgiving for the trust the Lord has in us as he invites us to lead others to him, we give God thanks and praise.