This time of year is so full of hope and promise.
I think most of us get a boost of energy from new beginnings... a
new month, a new semester, a new fiscal year (with or without “cliffs”), and
the ultimate new beginning is the New Year.
With the new we are bombarded with top ten lists and suggestions for the
best resolutions. And I readily jump in
to the excitement.
My default mode is gratitude and reflecting upon blessings I have
received during the past year. Yet I
have barely taken my spiritual and emotional inventory before I jump into the
resolution fray by enthusiastically developing ambitious plans about how I can
be a better person, a better family member, a better member of community… eat
less sugary treats, exercise more, pray more deeply, let others know how much
they mean to me. What good are these
inspirations without exploring who I am?
John’s gospel (John 1:19-28) offers an opportunity to appreciate
John the Baptist’s sense of self. As we contemplate
the scene described we should feel a sense of calm resolve from John. He is not trying to convince anyone about who
he is or what he is trying to do. He
answers the questions from the priests and the Levites calmly and
resolutely. John does not explain away
his behavior nor does he need invented resolutions which focus on how he can
love and serve Jesus.
John is a powerful model of knowing who he is and how he
focuses.
We can use John as a touchstone
to help us explore the times we are influenced by the questions or assumptions
of others in defining us. As I reflect
upon this upcoming year I can gain insights by asking myself the questions John
heard from the priests and Levites. How
will I respond this year when people ask me directly or metaphorically “what do
you have to say for yourself?”
1 John
2:22-28 offers a wonderful reminder that we have been given all we need to love
and serve God by having been given the truth.
“Let what you heard in the beginning remain in you.”
In His mercy, God has shaped salvation history to bring His people
to the awareness that without Him they could never achieve inner peace, that
they themselves are powerless to save themselves or build lives pleasing to
Him. John the Baptist was sent to announce that their long-awaited Savior had
come in the person of Jesus Christ and to prepare them to receive Him by
acknowledging their sins, repenting and turning to their Messiah.
It is God Himself who made straight our path to salvation, first
through holy men and prophets and finally in Christ His only Son. Jerusalem,
the Holy City, is our destination, our oasis in the desert. The way is
perilous, difficult and demanding; many turns entice us from our goal. Our only
assurance of arrival is to follow Christ closely, shoulder the cross with Him,
look ahead with hope, and never look back lest we fall by the wayside.
“Remain in him” is the only New Year’s resolution we need.
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