"Who Is Jesus?"

Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
19 January 2014

        When I would teach Morality classes for the Diocese, one particular co-teacher and I would use a DVD segment called “Who Is Jesus?” This clip from a Scripture series asked random people on the street about who they believed Jesus to be. The answers that the people gave covered a wide spectrum from “our Lord and Savior who died on the Cross for our sins” to a “modern-day scapegoat”, and from “a person who existed that continues to enrich the lives of people every day” to “a dude . . . lived back in the day . . . pretty awesome; had a beard”.

        No matter what the answer these individuals, we or society may give, we’re still left with the same question: Who is Jesus? And it’s a question that must be answered.

        Beginning with the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord two weeks ago and ending two Sundays from now on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we find ourselves today in the middle of a five-Sunday run in which we are introduced to this man named Jesus, learning about who He is and what He’s all about.

        Our Scripture passages this day give us a few ideas of who Jesus is. In our First Reading, Isaiah points to the one who is the Lord’s “servant”, the one who is to be the “light to the nations.” In our Gospel, John the Baptist points out the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” This last of the prophets also recognizes Jesus as the “man who is coming after [him] who ranks ahead of [him] because He (Christ) existed before [him].” John also plainly points to Jesus as the “Son of God.”

        Yet the question remains: Who is Jesus? For us, as Catholic Christians, we believe that He is much more than “a dude [who] lived back in the day [and who was] pretty awesome.” For us, Jesus Christ IS the Light to the Nations; He IS the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world; He IS the Son of God, and even more, God, Himself.

        In pointing out Jesus to whom we presume are Andrew and John, John the Baptist does so, so that his disciples would search this Jesus out, so that they would follow Him. The goal of not just these five weeks, but, rather, the goal of all time within the Church is to do the same thing: to point out the presence of Christ in this world so that we and others may follow Him to the promises of the next life.

        If we’re going to follow Jesus in our thoughts, words and actions, then we’re going to have to find out Who He is. Yes, part of that – the most primary and essential part – is to encounter Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Yet we cannot simply stop there. When a couple begins to date, do they only spend one hour a week together? No! Of course not! They spend as much time together as they can, learning all about who this other person is. (And, of course, this is a process of discovery which must last well into the marriage.)

        So, too, must we spend as much time with Jesus as possible. We must do so, so that we not only become more familiar with Jesus, but also because, like John the Baptist, we must be able to point Him out when He makes His presence known. Otherwise, when people approach us asking the question, “Who is Jesus?”, we don’t sound as foolish as those saying that He was “a dude [who] lived back in the day” or “a pretty cool guy who had a peaceful philosophy.” Rather, with heads held high, we can say that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the Light to the Nations, the Son of God. If we wish to make the words of the Psalmist our own (“Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your will.”), then we need to come to know Who the Lord is. For if we are to follow the example of Jesus Christ, who prayed these words to the Father, then we need to know how secure our relationship to the Lord truly is – or is not!

        As we prepare to receive Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we are forced to answer the question of “Who is Jesus?” But this isn’t just a question that we come to answer only once and we’re done with it. No! Rather it is a question that we must answer every moment of our lives. And it is a question that we must be diving deeper into as a member of the Body of Christ.

        So, then, who is Jesus?

        Is He a “modern-day scapegoat”?

        Is He the “Light to the Nations”?

        Is He “a guy with a unique, positive message that gave a lot of people a lot of hope”?

        Is He the “servant” of the Lord?

        Is He “a dude [who] lived back in the day [who was] pretty awesome [and] had a beard”?

        Is He “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world”?

        If we are to be disciples of Jesus Christ, we must not be shy in answering the question of “Who is Jesus?”, both as individuals and as members of His Body. This is the first step in falling in love with our Lord and living as His Beloved. Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI reminds us:

“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but an encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus Caritas Est, 1).

And that event, that person is Jesus Christ.

 






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Enjoy the journey . . .