HOMILY FOR JANUARY 2ND, MEMORIAL OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT AND SAINT GREGORY NAZIANZEN, BOTH BISHOPS AND DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH. (2)

HOMILY FOR JANUARY 2ND, MEMORIAL OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT AND SAINT GREGORY NAZIANZEN, BOTH BISHOPS AND DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH.

THEME: Who are you?(the testimony of Saint John the Baptist)

BY: Fr. Deotacious Chikontwe SMA.

*READINGS OF THE DAY*
1 John 2:22-28
Psalm 97:1-4
John 1:19-28

*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
WHITE

*INTRODUCTION*
Dear brethren, from today until the end of the week, our gospel reading is taken from the first chapter of John’s gospel. Specifically beginning at verse 19, which is where this morning’s Gospel reading begins, we read through the chapter continuously until we reach the end of the chapter at verse 51.

*ABOUT THE GOSPEL READING OF TODAY*
This morning, John the Baptist is asked one of the really important questions of life, ‘Who are you?’ We can spend most of our lives trying to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’ It is not a question that lends itself to a quick and easy answer, because it is a probing question that enquires after what our values are, what is really important to us, what shapes how we live, what are gifts and limitations are. There is a sense in which we never fully answer the question, ‘Who are you?

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*CONCLUSION*
A first step in knowing ourselves is knowing who we are not, so that we don’t try to be someone we are not. John the Baptist comes across in the gospel reading this morning as knowing who he is not. He is not the Messiah, he is not Elijah, and he is not the prophet. John does not claim to be someone he is not. He not only knows who he is not, he knows who he is – the voice crying in the wilderness preparing people for the Lord’s coming. He is the witness, the person who points to Jesus and leads others to him. In a very real sense, that is what we are all called to be. Even though we might have difficulty fully answering the question, ‘Who are you?’ we can all give the answer, ‘I am a witness’. That is our calling, to point towards the Lord and to lead others to him by our lives.
may you all have a Blessed Week ahead.

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