I am "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Make straight the way of the Lord'"

 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said:  "I am

'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Make straight the way of the Lord,"'
as the prophet Isaiah said."

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

- John 1:19-28

In yesterday's reading, we read the Prologue to John's Gospel, teaching us about the identity of Christ:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.   He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"  And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said:  "I am  'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."  After the theological prologue, John's Gospel begins with "the beginning" of Jesus' ministry.  As the Gospel echoed Genesis with "In the beginning," so now it starts to give us seven days.  This first begins with the important and essential question that will also be asked about Jesus, "Who are you?"  John denies that he is the Messiah, nor is he Elijah (although Jesus will say he is Elijah returned in spirit), nor the Prophet (the Messiah) prophesied by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15).   He gives Isaiah's cry as response, he is the herald of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3).

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.  John's baptism reflects his call for repentance, which he makes as part of the tradition of the prophets before him.  His practice of baptism prefigures and prepares people for the baptism to come.  My study bible says that, as the last in the lineage of Old Testament prophets, John is a figure of the Law.  He could denounce sin but not remit it.   But both John and the Law direct us to the One who can do so.

Identity is the central question of the Gospels.  Here the leadership sends its representatives to ask John, "Who are you?"  John, we know, was a towering figure during his lifetime and ministry, widely revered as a holy man.  It makes sense that the leadership should send to ask him, "Who are you?"  What we find with John's answer is something very important in theological terms.  Identity is given in relationship to Christ.  John is called the Forerunner.  He's the one whose identity is in preparing people for the Messiah, for Christ.  But this theological understanding of John's character and identity isn't only for John.  It's for all of us.  It's a very profound work of faith to continue on the journey to Christ as a way to identity, to find who we are.  Prayer helps us to find the things that truly define us, and to discard the things that don't.  Jesus' teachings will extend to identity.  When He teaches, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," He is giving us a clue about identity and how it works.  When Jesus speaks figuratively of cutting off or removing a hand or eye or foot that offends (see for example Matthew 18:8-9), He's speaking of shaping identity in relation to God and the true life in abundance He offers.  The "hand" or "eye" or "foot" that offends refers to sinful behavior, whether it be envious, or lustful where it shouldn't be, or abusive, for example.  Casting those things away from us means reshaping our own identity in relationship to God:  if we treasure them, they remain who we are, they define us.  Grace works in us to help us to define and reshape identity through a lifetime of faith, through the work of learning of "our better natures," so to speak.  Prayer helps us to find insight on new and better choices, helping to find what we treasure and what we need to discard.  Life is a process of growth in relationship to Christ if we choose to live that way, and that is what identity is all about.  For many, that is the fullness of what it means to be a Christian.   It is what it really means to be heirs or children by adoption and grace.  God's reality is a personal reality, not a sterile intellectual one.  In the saints, we can see examples of people who, through relationship to God, became supreme personas, entirely unique in their distinction, shaping the world and touching those around them with grace.  There is no such thing as a "cookie cutter" saint, because the depth of identity grows as we grow in relationship to Christ.   John the Baptist defines himself in his role as herald or forerunner.  In prayer, in relationship and participation in His life, one may find what Christ gives also to shape and identify our true place in Him, our real heart of hearts.