These Questions Lead to Flourishing

Have you ever noticed that everyone is always trying to work out who everyone is? This Sunday's gospel reading, everyone's trying to work out who John the Baptist is. They've been waiting. They've been waiting. The Jewish people have been waiting and waiting for a long time for the Messiah. And so John the Baptist appears. He appears in the desert. He appears to be a man of virtue. He appears to be a man of God. And so the question naturally arises. Is he the one? Everyone's trying to work out who John the Baptist is.

We spend a lot of time trying to work out who other people are and nowhere near enough time trying to work out who we are. And of course, John, unlike the people who were trying to work out who he was-- John was trying to work that out for himself. He was trying to work out what his call was in the whole mission. And when the people come to him, he says something very interesting. He says, "One who is mightier than I is coming." Let me ask you. Who is mightier than you? Who is mightier than you? We tend not to think that much about that, I think. Who's smarter than you? Do you ever think about that? Who's more virtuous than you? Who's more generous than you? Who's more compassionate than you? We tend not to think about these things. The reason is, is because, most of the time, we think we're above average.

80% of drivers believe they're above average. Now, statistically, that obviously is impossible. But 80% of drivers believe they're above average. And in many, many pursuits in our lives, we tend to think of ourselves as above average, and we tend not to look at the opportunity ahead of us to grow, to change, to develop, to become more of who God has created us to be. We tend to compare ourselves to other people in a way that makes us feel comfortable, in a way that doesn't challenge us to change, in a way that tends to lead to stagnation and mediocrity. John isn't confused. He's really clear. "One who is mightier than I is coming." John knew his role. He knew his part in it. He knew he was a preparer. He was preparing the way. He knew he wasn't the main attraction, and he was okay with that. He was really comfortable with who he was because he knew who God was calling him to be.

And so one of the lessons, maybe the first lesson here, is for us to stop spending so much time trying to work out who everybody else is and maybe start spending a little bit more time working out who we are, what we're here for, and what unique call God is placing upon us and upon our lives. In the second part of the reading, Jesus enters the scene. And Jesus enters. John is baptizing. And Jesus comes to John to be baptized, which is an astounding act of humility. It is an acknowledgment of the role John had played and was playing in the whole Salvation story. And Jesus sets himself before John to Baptist to be baptized. John protests. Jesus doesn't accept his protestations. And a voice comes from heaven, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased," the voice of God entering into time and space in this world. "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."

And I think the question we have to ask ourselves there is, what is it about you that God is well pleased with? What is it about your life that God is well pleased with? What is it about you and your life, me and my life that God is not pleased with? And are we willing to probe these deeper questions? Are we willing to go to these deeper places in these readings that we have heard, perhaps many times, maybe even 100 times in our lives? Are we willing to ask the uncomfortable question? Are we willing to be vulnerable with ourselves and vulnerable with God and explore how we are not living up to the person God has created us to be? Everyone seems to be trying to work out who everyone else is. And maybe it's time we spend a little bit more time working out who we are and what it is God has placed us on this Earth for at this particular moment in history.